What Animals Teach Us About What It Means To Be Human

Most of us have become accustomed to communicating our needs and desires to those around us. From the moment we first open our eyes we are immersed in complex rituals of language and signification that enable us to share our experiences with others. We share our hopes and fears--our struggles and victories. Such is the way we identify and empathize with one another within a common culture.

But what if you suddenly found yourself without a voice--without a vocabulary with which to express the dire immediacy of your experience? What if you found yourself in a situation where you felt compelled to express yourself but could not? And despite your best efforts, you were neither acknowledged nor understood.

Well, then you might just know what it feels like to be a non-human animal living in a world dominated by Homo sapiens.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)--the oldest animal rights organization in the United States--is one group dedicated to providing a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves. Since its founding by philanthropist and activist Henry Bergh in 1866, the ASPCA has sought to provide "an effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States." From humble beginnings as a forum for activists decrying the inhumanity of dog fighting and slaughterhouses, the ASPCA has grown in to a nationally recognized organization responsible for large-scale animal protection initiatives--particularly with regard to the adoption of sheltered and abused domestic animals.

I was fortunate enough to catch up with ASPCA president Ed Sayres at their October 8th "Young Friends" benefit in New York City--a charity event designed to reach out to younger demographics and carry the ASPCA's legacy in to the future. Amidst a paw-covered black carpet and club-style ambiance supplied by DJ Berrie, Sayres told me that the night's event alone would help to raise anywhere between $50 - 100,000 for animal rights causes. However, he was quick to point out that money isn't the sole motivator. According to Sayres, "These events do more than raise money--they also raise visibility and awareness for the cause."

Sayres--whose first word as a baby was "dog"--emphasized that we should protect animals not only because it is our ethical imperative, but also because animals are capable of teaching us valuable lessons about what it means to be human. "Animals are special," Sayres said, "in that they exemplify forgiveness, and often show us unconditional love." Moreover, Sayres suggested that animals have a different ethics of play than do humans. Unlike human forms of play--so often predicated on domination and competition--animals engage in play for its own sake. There are no winners or losers. "For them, it isn't a zero-sum game."

Also in attendance was Brooklyn Decker--supermodel, animal rights activist, and wife of American tennis superstar Andy Roddick--who was named honorary chair of the "Young Friends" event.

"I was surprised and deeply honored," Decker said of hearing the news that she would be the event's honorary chair. "I grew up in a zoo--I live with four adopted dogs and two cats." Decker, whose childhood aspiration was to be a veterinarian, was quick to remind me that over one million animals will be put in to shelters this year alone. "We need to help them because they don't have a voice--we need to be their voice."

Animals "lack a voice" not because they are incapable of communication, but rather because human beings have neglected to listen to them. If this is true, it is because most of us are comfortable keeping our eyes closed to anything but a wholly anthropocentric world--a world where only humans lives matter. However, those who have welcomed animals in to their lives know all too well that they do not lack communication or intelligence. On the contrary, they often communicate in wonderfully subtle ways.

Although animals utilize different modes of communication than humans, there can be little doubt that they are capable of tremendous expression. The ASPCA and like-minded organizations must continue their mission prevent cruelty to animals. However, we as individuals must go further than merely alleviating the suffering of abused and homeless animals by acknowledging that humans can learn a great deal about our own humanity through an interrogation of animal virtues.

As Jaimee Bloom--director of ASPCA's Young Friends Association--told me, "I've learned so much about loyalty and compassion simply by observing dogs interact with their owners." She urged young people to start visiting their local shelters, in hopes that they will experience the stirs of compassion, and eventually the joy of welcoming a sheltered animal in to their home. What we need is an ethical awakening to the unspoken and unheard struggles of animals.

Perhaps one day we will discover that, in spite of our own cultural biases and predilections, we do indeed have much to learn from the lives of animals.

Comments

[CR46]

I think the best things my furry friends have taught me is to accept others no matter what. We currently have 13 dogs, 8 cats, 4 goats and 6 horses and 7 foster horses. With all their different personalities they all manage to get along. From the Chihuahua(that runs the show ) to 2 ex-police dogs, to various others in between. Yes our ranch is filling up with "pets" but we always have enough love and care for all of them :) All are rescues that came to us in different ways, strays, injured animals we found, shelters, the retired police dogs came through different means, a friend rehomes some, because sometimes an officers first dog cannot get along with a new dog when they retire. They are all my babies :)

[MorganT]

Good post. I love my dogs even if they can be brats and they are huge and tend to knock me over. I think that having animals teaches responsibility but also love. having an animal is comparable to a baby, well except that a dog may be less responsibility. But it is a living thing that depends on you wholly for food and water, shelter, and also love, attention and obedience. Anyone who has doubts about this watch animal planet for a day or two, esp. When animal cops comes on, see animals, including dogs, cats, horses, goats, and even chickens who have been abused and mistreated, but are still willing to love with a little bit of therapy.

[lungfish]

The issue of compassion for those who are not like ourselves is an important one....

And for those who think that there is nothing to be gained by learning from animals I would advise them to actually get out in the world and meet animals on their terms and learn how to dialog..

I teach freediving as a practice for meditation but the issue of interspecies communication is constant... Even sharks will show their bellies like dogs and can be as interactive... same goes for a lot of other fish critters.

I have had and encountered others who have remarkable and loving relationships with all kinds of beings. Rats to snakes and lizards to birds and fish... The story here is that there is somebody in there and they deserve our respect.

Here is an example of my own experiences with wild animals and proof of what can happen when we take the time to meet them on their terms... I have had these beings take a great interest in my safety and well being, even diving to 50meters with me and then having the whole group escort me back...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwP8eCWIwts

[Norge]

The world is not dominated by homo-sapiens, the world is dominated by bacteria.

Other animals than the human animal also think, love, teach and raise their young.

[Vickster]

Oh please. Animals can't teach us what it means to be human. They can only teach us what it means to be animal.

[lungfish]

Spoken like someone who knows nothing about animals and has never learned to interact with them beyond the most superficial levels...

[Vickster]

Guess again. I've been training dogs for most of my life, beginning at the age of seven. I've also been raising dairy goats for the last twenty-six years. Believe me, I spend several hours every day interacting with my goats, paying attention to their mannerisms and social order. Some of this time is spent working with the dogs I've trained to herd my goats. For the record, I've also tried my hand at raising sheep, chickens, geese and rabbits since 1983. Currently, I've been devising several methods for rehabilitating cats who have developed bad habits. (Yes, I'm a cat-lover too. I have six.) The reason why I can work with all these species, discovering ways to discourage negative behavior, is because I let them teach me how to think like Animal. I already know how to think like Human.

[RMankovitz]

I respect the ethical treatment of sentient beings, and support the ASPCA. I also respect Nature, having spent years researching how she evolved us and where we fit in. The results are enlightening.

There is mounting evidence that, like animals, plants are also capable of feeling pain and defending themselves. I suggest "The Lost Language of Plants" by Stephen Buhner and "The Secret Life of Plants" by Tompkins and Bird (film version available on YouTube). Plants are capable of communicating with each other, defending themselves against predators with toxins made to order, and remembering which animals hurt them, including humans.

New research shows plants recognize their relatives and form communities:

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8076000/8076875.stm),

and are so smart they can fake illness to deter predators:

(http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1708770/first_discovery_of_plant_that_fakes_illness/index.html).

It seems to me that our anthropocentric view of Nature, coupled with arrogance and ignorance, leads us to believe that only those living things with a face have feelings. Just because we cannot hear plants does not mean they are not communicating.

For background and references on a nature-based eating plan that respects animals and plants and is arguably the most sustainable, see "The Original Diet." It does away with artificial fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, and agricultural machinery that destroys millions of ground-living animals.

Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com

[eaakr]

Why didn't you interview any animals?

[Doctor Jones]

freedom of speech!