Jonathan Crowther wrote:
>
> On Tue, 09 Apr 1996 17:12:35 -0500 (EST), you wrote:
>
> >
> >This of course assumes animals don't know they're going to die, which
> >is problematic especially in the case of 'higher' animals. One thinks
> >of elephant post-mortum 'rituals' and the like.
>
> Our 15 year old cat is giving a very good of imitation of being aware
> that her end is near. It appears as a giving up of her established
> prima donna role to one of our other younger cats and a terrible
> bitterness in the eyes at times. It is difficult to describe but she
> walks every day with death as her shadow. I have always found her a
> rather remote cat in the past but lately we have begun to talk as we
> both begin to appreciate our common end.
>
> Jonathan Crowther
> crowther@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> --- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---
Just because Descartes said that animals got no souls or reasoning, does
not mean that we must all buy into his baroque thoughts. Having spent a
lifetime around beasties of all order, I tend to the observation that
animals in their essence are of the order of dasein in that they know
death and live daily in some sort of compromise with that knowledge.
Each of my aged and dying cats/dogs were aware of impending demise and
met it in each of her/his own, different, ways.
Micheal.
--- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---
>
> On Tue, 09 Apr 1996 17:12:35 -0500 (EST), you wrote:
>
> >
> >This of course assumes animals don't know they're going to die, which
> >is problematic especially in the case of 'higher' animals. One thinks
> >of elephant post-mortum 'rituals' and the like.
>
> Our 15 year old cat is giving a very good of imitation of being aware
> that her end is near. It appears as a giving up of her established
> prima donna role to one of our other younger cats and a terrible
> bitterness in the eyes at times. It is difficult to describe but she
> walks every day with death as her shadow. I have always found her a
> rather remote cat in the past but lately we have begun to talk as we
> both begin to appreciate our common end.
>
> Jonathan Crowther
> crowther@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> --- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---
Just because Descartes said that animals got no souls or reasoning, does
not mean that we must all buy into his baroque thoughts. Having spent a
lifetime around beasties of all order, I tend to the observation that
animals in their essence are of the order of dasein in that they know
death and live daily in some sort of compromise with that knowledge.
Each of my aged and dying cats/dogs were aware of impending demise and
met it in each of her/his own, different, ways.
Micheal.
--- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---