Fear of the Familiar By Sean Turner (06/14/10 11:14:29)
After reading Fear of the Familiar, I realized that there is way too much classification of animals. They are separated into several categories such as house pets, game, and wild animals, just to name a few. In order to better understand these animals, we need to put them all on a level playing field and not harbor preconceived notions about these animals and their behavior. Most all animals, depending on their personal disposition, are capable of being members of all of these categories. I agree with some thoughts in this article that point out that sentimentality is strongly tied with connecting certain animals to their respective categories. Much of the "love" that humans feel toward animals is driven not by their particular relationship with the animal, but the physical appearance of the animal and its ability to relate to humans. It is an "over-investment in an animal's appearance." Many of the r-selected species, who are often smaller, uglier, and in larger numbers, aren't seen as individuals, and thus not loved in the same way as a more commonly domesticated animal like a dog.
I do not agree with the statement that a domesticated animal is a "living betrayal of its properly animal potential or trajectory." As humans, who are we to decide what is natural for an animal. After all, didn't humans evolve from animals? Our human trajectory is obviously to civilize and dominate our environment, and perhaps it is in the animals' best interest to also become more civilized and safe from the harsh, unpredictable outside world.
I do not believe that the Infinity Kisses piece should even be considered art. To me, it is just a few pictures of a weird lady who is way to obsessed with her cat. The only thing that comes to my mind is bestiality, and that is wrong no matter how good of friends you think you are with your cat. It is ok to take pictures with your cat, but taking it any further is crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed.
Sentimentality seems to be a very controversial subject when it comes to animals. I believe that animals are not that different from humans, and that it is normal to develop feelings for them. However, I think that humans are very discriminatory when it comes to feeling sentimentality toward animals. It seems that humans only allow themselves to feel for animals when the animals feel back. This reciprocal relationship is rare between humans and other species, and that is why humans generally feel more sentimentality toward responsive and "loving" animals such as dogs instead of ants. [Write Comment]