Blog #13

I found the most interesting part of Midgley's discussion of the "mixed community" to be when she talked about the relationship between animals and children. Midgley states that animals seem to have the capability to sense when they are dealing with the young of other species and behave accordingly (in most cases). For example, a cat is more patient with human children than with adult humans. I found this to be very interesting not only because it was something I had never thought about, but also because it is such an amazing idea. Once I read what Midgley had to say about it, I realized that I have witnessed this type of thing before, and that she is absolutely correct in her assessment. I find it really interesting that animals can recognize infants even when they look different than themselves - especially in the case of cats and human children (as Midgley cited) because human children are larger than most domesticated cats. The fact that animals have the ability to sense out when another animal is young is amazing, and is endearing. I believe it was Midgley who stated earlier in the book that the way animals interact with their young is one of the things that provides the strongest case among most humans for animal rights - because we see that and can relate to it.

I also liked how Midlgey used her discussion of animals and children to talk about the childlike features that most human adults have which are lacking in most other animals - like how almost all adult humans still play in some form. Midlgey states that some adult chimpanzees can be seen playing together on occasion, but for the most part, once a chimpanzee is grown, they do not behave like a young chimpanzee any longer. In some cases, this is true with humans as well. Once we are grown, we are encouraged to act maturely. However, adults still joke around, laugh, and play with frequency. Midlgey cites this (as well as a few other things) as possibly being an evolutionary difference that separates us from other animals.

Midgley also talks about how children have a certain affinity for animals - that they are drawn to them. I do not think this can be denied, nor do I think that she is wrong when she says that many times this attraction is written off as "childish." I found it interesting that she quoted the bible about putting away "childish things," because I had never considered having a love for animals as being childish. However, after having read what she had to say, I can see how a lot of the world would think an adult who had a real love and affection for all animals would be abnormal. In my opinion, most adults do not spend much time thinking about animals, so the ones that do are sometimes seen as being strange or childish - which is a shame. Maybe someday we will live in a world where caring about animals is the norm, not the exception.