Since the dark ages of Descartes, certain people have tried to keep non-human animals down and justify their exploitation with the absurd and arrogant allegation that animals don’t really care what happens to them because they aren’t capable of feeling, choosing, or perceiving—they aren’t “conscious”.
Say what? What are they, unconscious?
To borrow a redneck phrase I promise I’ll never resort to again, that dog don’t hunt!
Of course, neither does our yellow lab, Honey. But she definitely can think
and feel, and on Wednesday night she felt bad, clearly perceiving that things weren’t right. She must have eaten something unsavory that didn’t sit well. Normally Honey sleeps like a log, choosing to sleep on the bed, but that night she didn’t sleep a wink and instead lay on the floor with a pained expression and a hang-dog look (sorry, again, but it seemed to fit); she was worried, fearful and subdued—obviously uncomfortable.
By morning, her stomach must have settled and she slept soundly until 11:00 a.m. Honey hadn’t been outside since the previous afternoon, and my wife and I had been growing quite concerned, but when we asked if she was ready to go for walk, the answer was plain as day. She jumped for joy—leaped, in fact—in jubilant celebration of feeling like her old self again. Her recovery was dramatic, almost startling, and she pulled against her leash with renewed vigor and intensity.
How anyone can still subscribe to the agenda-driven assertion that non-human animals don’t experience life every bit as—if not more—richly as our species, is beyond me. All of the other animals we share the world with—dogs, cats, pigs, cows, horses, rabbits, parrots, pigeons, turkeys, turtles, deer, elk, mink, salmon, or moose–have each evolved the wits and sensations needed to survive, or they surely wouldn’t be with us now.
Regardless of what you believe about whether animals should have rights, we humans don’t have the right to make them suffer. Any attentive dog owner knows that their best friend can go through a full spectrum of emotions, from fear and sorrow to love and joy—on any given day. Rene Descartes must have been short changed when god was handing out empathy. A lot of animals have needlessly suffered for his convenient, but lunatic theories on the lack of animal consciousness.
Conscious or not, Descartes must not have had a conscience. His theory could have been put to rest long ago had his peers applied one simple equation: If it looks like poop and smells like poop, it must be bullshit.
Exposing the Big Game 
Reblogged this on Animal Connection.
Thank you for this..Descartes has done so much damage, and still, on going! Keep the info coming. I always forward… Either fb or emails. Thank you!
Yes, I can’t believe we’re still trying to undue Descartes damage. Thanks so much for passing these on and spreading the word for animals!
Descartes went even further than that. He believed that animals were mere automata and their organs, bones, and other body parts could be replaced with cogs, pistons and cams. He also believed that any noises they make are simply a response to external stimuli, not an indication they possess consciousness. This included the cries they make when undergoing vivisection, which he practiced.
Ona nother note, Honey is a real sweetie.
Yes, she is! And thanks for sharing some of the details about the despicable Descartes that I didn’t go into. It’s hard to believe we’re still battling with the insanity he came up with so long ago. The only explanation is that his absurd ideas are convenient for those who would exploit and abuse animals.
Thank goodness for people like Marc Bekoff and Diane Witt:
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/02/live-chat-the-science-of-love.html
Click the replay button to see the chat.
True, at least some of today’s scientists are proving what many of us already knew about about animals! Thanks for the link.
Jim, thanks for sending me the link to Honey’s story. She’s a real beauty. Descartes sounds like a real evil, soulless MoFo! I hope he’s burning in Hell, not that I subscribe to the whole Heaven and Hell thing but in this case, I do.
Someday I hope to have a dog. I currently have 6 cats — 3 are rescues (I rescued) the other 3 are not. I cannot imagine my life without animals. Each of my six cats has their own personality and quirks. At night while in bed, I can tell which cat just entered the bedroom (by the sound they make on the hardwood floors). I can tell who jumped up on the bed, without opening my eyes. I can also tell when one is feeling off. I can read them and they can read me. When I was going through a particularly difficult and painful divorce – on the weekends I would spend too much time in bed, sleeping-in in the mornings and my cats knew not to bother me to be fed. Instead, they lied there with me, looking over at me when I stirred — making eye contact but not once did they try their usual shenanigans in an attempt to wake me up and feed them, instead they let me be. They knew I was depressed and upset.
Anyone who hasn’t experienced the joys and heartache of pet ownership is truly missing out. I feel sorry for them.
As a former friend one said, “Animals are so chill.”
Yes, Descartes was a total MoFo to the animals (a fuckin’ vivisectionist!) And I agree that every cat has his or her own personality–all 3 of ours certainly do!
Reblogged this on Exposing the Big Game.
People can believe that animals are inferior and unaware because it makes it easier to use, abuse, and exploit them.
Descartes’ assertion that animals were unfeeling automata came at a very convenient time as vivisection was increasing and some were questioning its cruelty. Descartes justified the march of science for human benefit at animal expense.
By the way, Honey is beautiful.
Honey says: Thanks!
OMG what a sadistic demented vermin this f’k was! I am speechless, I always respected him as a brilliant mathematician. This knowledge smashed my belief that people who can think will deduce the right conclusion about all living beings. What an asshole! I will never ever forget what this evil POS parasite did to animals.