Rev-- I do not think that my dog regards me as a god. As a pack animal my dog is part of my pack. This particular little dog is very much a follower. He seeks out a leader amongst dogs and humans. He is great with the submissive behaviour, but is still a confident and non-cringing animal I'm happy to say. I am his boss dog! He is our 4th dog and they have all had different personalities, including a wonderful animal, an alpha male dog, who was the most devoted animal I have ever met. He adored our children, played with them, put up with dreadful indignities from them and made us all feel safe, (easy for him, he was 1/2 staghound!). He was easy to train and was also a pack member in our family--humans were boss.
Forgive this long lead in, I have a point. You ask what is the status of human v animal. There is a temptation to interpret animal behaviour in terms of human behaviour but his is to take an anthropomorphic attitude. The other point of view that I would take is to suggest that the behaviour of animals differs only slightly from humans, if at all. Dogs (pack animals like us) seek a leader, chimps use tools, elephants grieve when their friends die, whales seek to communicate with other whales, often over long distances.... and so on. We are not different in many ways from other mammals... we are warm blooded, we have live young whom we nurture for a long time, we have hair/fur, and so on. There is much more that is similar than different. Our brain is the most advanced in the animal kingdom, and we have used it to maximum effect, but we are a puny creature otherwise.
You see, because I do not believe either that god made me in his/her image, or I was created by some supernatural act, or anything else that gives humanity a special place in the order of things, I do not have to believe I am anything but a natural outcome of life on this planet. I am of the mammalian species-- that's way better than being krill, but who knows, maybe not as useful.
Last edited by Ellis; 07/10/08 01:34 AM. Reason: grammar
