blog # 13

I thought this chapter of Midgley's book was very interesting to read. She starts off by explaining animal involvement in human communities as a mixed community. Animals have always been associated with humans, interacting with them in special ways. Some animals, such as dogs or cats, have been considered "pets" and are well taken care of and loved as companions or family members, while other animals such as cows or oxen, have been used strictly for work or food. Humans have always taken into consideration the emotional level of animals, and the fact that they feel and understand. Midgley points out that our understanding of this is shown through our treatment of animals, and our understanding of their emotions that allows us to control them through pain, fear, or desire. This is shown in everyday life as people manipulate the emotions of animals to achieve a human goal such as on the farm, in the zoo, or in the circus. This continues to prove that they are more than machines. I agree with this completely and it made a good point to challenge those who have a view point of Descartes.

The ability to domesticate and tame some animals, rather than others, is based on the ability of the animals to engage socially and form social bonds. This was very interesting to me because I always wondered why certain animals, such as dogs, could become lifelong friends, while animals such as tigers could be tamed for a little but always seem to turn on its "owner" at some point. This understanding also portrays the individuality of animals, the uniqueness of their point of view. This point of view explains the difference between animals and machines because machines could never have the point of view as animals. Humans are incapable as treating animals exactly the same as objects because we are aware of their feelings and their response regardless of our point of view.

This part of Midgley's book showed the connection that animals and humans have, even animals that are not pets. Most people do not desire for any animals to be tortured because we recognize the similarity and the animals ability to feel, as we do. We are able to recognize them as beings and their desire to live. We can form bonds with animals that are much more intimate than ones with our cars, we are able to feel sadness and a sense of loss when our pet dies that is more significant than when our car stops working. There is a difference that breaks the species barrier and allows a connection between humans and animals.