Posted by John McGee on February 08, 1999 at 09:50:01:
In Reply to: Just to provoke thought posted by Tyler on February 07, 1999 at 23:39:33:
: I have been thinking about something for quite a while and I wish to propose a certain aspect of it for discussion on this board. I am, however, not going to state my reasons for thinking this (not yet, not until I see what people think without hearing my ideas). See how far you can stretch your mind.
: I think animals are sentient.
Great topic!
I think animals are sentient as well. Reasons for this are hard to come by off the top of my head. First, I think you mean sentient in the typical sense, i.e. having a higher order of consciousness than mere autonomous instinct.
I think so. For one, many cultures believe this. I'm not a relativist by far, but when thousands of people for thousands of years think a certain thing, it CAN have validity, though not necessarily. This is a weak reasoning. My best would have to do with pesonal expecience. Any interactions with animals, both wild and domestic leads one to beleive they are conscious of what is going on sometimes to a greater degree than we are. They are curious, loving, cautious, they learn, and they exhibit emotion. Finally i would cite an incident in the Bible that indicates this. This is speculative, so don't flip out or anything. Balaam's donkey talks. It indicates that the Lord opened the donkey's mouth. Not that it was another creature talking for her, but that she was allowed to talk for herself- to speak her thoughts.
I personally beleive that all living things have sentience to some extent. Even vegetable matter. I could go on and on with little anecdotes like the one about plant reaction to human emotion, but it really doesn't matter. I see no indications in my experience to lead me to follow the old concept that animals are just resources for humanity to manage. I see a world where the expressions of an Artist are manifest in wonderful diversity and beauty. I don't need to feel like some divine emperor over all of this earth to validate my existence... Oh another example, St. Francis preached to animals, the Desert Fathers (an old order) did too.