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I’ve noticed pet owners get angry when you point out the mid-anthropomorphic ideas they have about their animals. I assume they take it as disrespect that thei

I’ve noticed pet owners get angry when you point out the mid-anthropomorphic ideas they have about their animals. I assume they take it as disrespect that their pet is an animal that is different than them. Rather than accepting they are simply another form of life with whole different motivations and concepts.

actionfromafar 2y ago
It's not that. Cats and dogs are very different to us, but when you live with them, you might learn how nuanced and complex they can be.
- InsideOutSanta 2y ago
  But that's what I'm pointing out in my original comment... Cats definitely experience love, they notice the absence of people or animals they love, and they react to it. All I'm saying is that I don't think the word "grief" is the correct word in this context, because grief implies an understanding of the concept of death, which is a very human idea that we had to learn. We weren't born with this understanding, learning about death is something very upsetting that children have to go through.
  - actionfromafar 2y ago
    I'm not saying other social animals have some kind of abstract understanding to death, but that they very, most, extremely, likely have an innate response to seeing dead members of their "pack" or other social structure. And if so, it would be very strange if humans did not have it too. You may believe it is not so, but maybe you now understand my position?
  - Jtsummers 2y ago
    > Grief is the anguish experienced after significant loss, usually the death of a beloved person. Grief often includes physiological distress, separation anxiety, confusion, yearning, obsessive dwelling on the past, and apprehension about the future. -- https://www.apa.org/topics/grief https://www.apa.org/topics/grief That seems to describe the behavior people have seen cats display after the loss of someone or another animal in their homes. Maybe they don't know it's death, but they know it's a loss and exhibit signs of distress, anxiety, and confusion. We can't really ask them to find out if they're dwelling on the past or apprehensive about the future though.
  - uptown 2y ago
    How do you figure that death is solely a human concept?
InsideOutSanta 2y ago
I guess. I see my cats as a type of alien. I know they love me and want to be around me, but I also know that their experience and understanding of the world is very different from mine. They're not little furry humans.

actionfromafar 2y ago

It's not that. Cats and dogs are very different to us, but when you live with them, you might learn how nuanced and complex they can be.

InsideOutSanta 2y ago
But that's what I'm pointing out in my original comment... Cats definitely experience love, they notice the absence of people or animals they love, and they react to it. All I'm saying is that I don't think the word "grief" is the correct word in this context, because grief implies an understanding of the concept of death, which is a very human idea that we had to learn. We weren't born with this understanding, learning about death is something very upsetting that children have to go through.
- actionfromafar 2y ago
  I'm not saying other social animals have some kind of abstract understanding to death, but that they very, most, extremely, likely have an innate response to seeing dead members of their "pack" or other social structure. And if so, it would be very strange if humans did not have it too. You may believe it is not so, but maybe you now understand my position?
- Jtsummers 2y ago
  > Grief is the anguish experienced after significant loss, usually the death of a beloved person. Grief often includes physiological distress, separation anxiety, confusion, yearning, obsessive dwelling on the past, and apprehension about the future. -- https://www.apa.org/topics/grief https://www.apa.org/topics/grief That seems to describe the behavior people have seen cats display after the loss of someone or another animal in their homes. Maybe they don't know it's death, but they know it's a loss and exhibit signs of distress, anxiety, and confusion. We can't really ask them to find out if they're dwelling on the past or apprehensive about the future though.
- uptown 2y ago
  How do you figure that death is solely a human concept?

InsideOutSanta 2y ago

I guess. I see my cats as a type of alien. I know they love me and want to be around me, but I also know that their experience and understanding of the world is very different from mine. They're not little furry humans.