Animals Are People

A chapter from Animals Are People by Peter Morville

Chapter 14

It’s a glorious morning on the farm. My heart dances with golden daffodils and the year’s first cherry blossoms. The goats and I wander by the sparkling pond where peepers declare spring has sprung. I love to watch the goats sniff and nibble before deciding what to eat from nature’s bountiful salad bar. It’s as calming as meditation. So now’s the perfect time for me to solve the dilemma of the alpacas.

My trail cam tells me the owner is a grumpy, frumpy woman. On weekdays, she’s gone before sun-up in her rusted, busted pickup. Nobody else lives there, best I can tell. There’s a dirt road to a pasture gate with a rusty chain. No match for Dad’s bolt cutters. The next step is to talk to Gage. It’s a big ask. But he owes me. I should tell Inari. I hate to break a promise. But they’ll never okay my plan. And I won’t make them complicit. I go back and forth. I can’t abide the suffering of the alpacas. Yet it’s a big risk. I won’t decide now. I’ll ask first. Gage might say no.

I leave the goats in the forest enclosure and dash inside. I haven’t been late for months, and I won’t start today. The clock in the kitchen tells me I have time, so I pour a glass of lemonade, grab a chocolate chip scone, and scamper upstairs to my room. Ghost bounds right up onto the bed.

“Sorry, Ghost. No scones for you. Chocolate is poison to dogs. Wolves too!” I open my laptop.

“Jo, let’s tackle Darwin, then your idea to save the world.”

“That sounds great. But first, I have a question. Inari, why are we studying a scientist in a philosophy class?”

“Good question! In the classic period of ancient Greece, there was no distinction. Aristotle was both philosopher and scientist. But modernity begat specialization. Darwin is categorized as a scientist. Yet his work is consequential to philosophy. The theory of evolution is a paradigm shift in how we understand our world. Whereas the Copernican revolution showed Earth is not the center of the universe, the Darwinian revolution revealed humans are not the apex of life on earth. We all share a last common universal ancestor who lived four billion years ago. Humans are Great Apes. We are animals who evolved by natural selection. As an animal philosopher, evolution is foundational to my work. And, Jo, this bridge between science and philosophy is generalizable. A philosopher must know the science. Today, ignorance is idiocy.”

“That makes sense. In the Origin of Species, Darwin says,”

As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form.

“Inari, it’s pretty amazing! Evolution wasn’t obvious, until Darwin wrote that. I can’t imagine how different the world would look if I didn’t know about natural selection. It’s how I understand the traits and behaviors of all animals, including humans. Darwin asks, ‘What can be more curious than that the hand of a man, formed for grasping, that of a mole for digging, the leg of the horse, the paddle of the porpoise, and the wing of the bat, should all be constructed on the same pattern, and should include the same bones, in the same relative positions?’ That we share ancestors in common is obvious. Darwin says, ‘the difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind.’ Humans are kin to all species. It’s obvious!”

“That’s the hallmark of a paradigm: once you see, you can’t unsee. Darwin reveals that not only are people animals, but animals are people. He says, ‘the young and the old of widely different races, both with man and animals, express the same state of mind by the same movements.’ We share the emotions of love, hate, fear, anger, and compassion. To deny fear in the hiss of a kitten or happiness in the tail wag of a puppy is silly. The physical and behavioral continuity between species is undeniable. Jo, why else would we test human drugs on mice and monkeys?”

“Fact! Yet Darwin still manages to be a supremacist. He scorns lower animals and savages.”

“And so we revisit the relationship between science and philosophy. Darwin proposed ‘one general law, leading to the advancement of all organic beings, namely, multiply, vary, let the strongest live and the weakest die.’ Plus, he was a racist who labeled all but white Europeans as savages. Darwin’s work, under the influence of culture, led to eugenics in the United States and Nazi Germany. Jo, science is easily and frequently corrupted to justify the worst of man’s atrocities.”

“Ugh! So, science is riddled by useful false beliefs, just like philosophy and religion?”

“That’s right, Jo.”

“Yet in The Descent of Man, Darwin says,”

A tribe including many members who, from possessing in a high degree the spirit of patriotism, fidelity, obedience, courage, and sympathy, were always ready to aid one another, and to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would be victorious over most other tribes; and this would be natural selection. At all times throughout the world tribes have supplanted other tribes; and as morality is one important element in their success, the standard of morality and the number of well-endowed men will thus everywhere tend to rise and increase.

“So, Inari, it’s not just survival of the fittest?”

“It’s survival of the friendliest too. Darwin realized reciprocity and symbiosis contribute to fitness. But he’s remembered for competition, not cooperation. People cherry-pick science as much as philosophy. In any case, the evidence for evolution has advanced since Darwin. We know the gene is the basic unit of heredity, and via epigenetics and horizontal gene transfer, we know the environment and other species also play a role. Or at least some of us do, right?”

“Inari, the statistics you sent are wild. Forty percent of Americans don’t believe in evolution!”

“Folks believe what they want. In science, despite Darwin, we suffered the behaviorist ban on anthropomorphism, as if human and nonhuman animals hold nothing in common. In society, we suffer creationism: a belief the universe is less than ten thousand years old, and Noah’s Ark carried all species including humans and dinosaurs. For many people, science is simply no match for religion.”

“Folks ain’t got the good sense God gave a rock!”

“Fact! Let’s turn our attention to the illusion of objectivity. Darwin embraced the scientific method and inductive reasoning by constructing theories based on facts gathered by observation. In truth, objectivity is unattainable, as it’s impossible to eliminate bias, emotion, and false belief. Set that aside for now. In the scientific worldview, animals are objects. So it’s only proper to experiment on animals for the benefit of humanity, right?”

“Animals aren’t objects. We are subjects!”

“Jo, that’s why I want to quote Jakob von Uexküll, the German biologist who in 1909 coined ‘umwelt’ to describe the perceptual world experienced by a sentient being.”

The eyeless creature finds the way to its lookout with the help of a general sensitivity to light in the skin. The blind and deaf bandit becomes aware of the approach of its prey through the sense of smell. The odor of butyric acid, which is given off by the skin glands of all mammals, gives the tick the signal to leave its watch post and leap off. If it then falls onto something warm, which its fine sense of temperature will tell it, then it has reached its prey, the warm-blooded animal, and needs only use its sense of touch to find a spot as free of hair as possible in order to bore past its own head into the skin tissue of the prey. Now, the tick pumps a stream of warm blood slowly into itself.

“And then Jakob asks, is the tick an object or a subject?”

“Inari, the tick is a subject, of course. A disgusting subject. Now my skin is crawling with imaginary ticks.”

“Thomas Nagel asks, ‘what is it like to be a bat?’ and answers, ‘we cannot know.’ In contrast, Jakob von Uexküll melds science and philosophy to explore what it’s like to be a tick. He says each animal has a unique umwelt. Jo, when I walk my dog, even though we’re in the same place, we inhabit different sensory bubbles. I’m taller and possess better eyesight, while my dog can hear and smell things that I cannot. Jakob compares a body to a home and says, ‘Each house has a number of windows, which open onto a garden: a light window, a sound window, an olfactory window, a taste window, and a great number of tactile windows.’ Each creature experiences a different garden. I love that! And the umweltian worldview is wonderfully egalitarian. All sentient beings are subjects. Jo, it’s a completely divergent paradigm to Darwinism, with nobody being higher or lower, only different.”

“Inari, when I dream, I inhabit the umwelt of a specific animal. I experience their garden. I hope I’m never a tick.”

“Ha! So, Jo, both evolution and umwelten are scientific theories with philosophical foundations and implications. In short, science and philosophy are intertwingled. Now, I’m excited to hear your plan to save the world. But first, let’s take a fifteen-minute break. See you at quarter to.”

I snuggle into Ghost. She got skunked bad a few nights ago. But now that the smell has faded, I don’t mind so much. I roll out of bed. We race down the stairs and outside into the dazzling sunshine. I can’t believe it’s t-shirt weather already. I recall being in Ghost’s umwelt, so I can imagine what it’s like to be a wolfdog amid the glorious sounds and scents of spring. I wonder how the alpacas feel. I’m sure they’re still hungry. But at least they’re warm. Okay, we’d better get back to class.

“Alright, Jo, in order to progress from criminality to responsible activism, let’s explore possible futures. I’m excited to hear your first idea for saving the world. Now it’s your turn to talk and my turn to listen.”

“Inari, your metacrisis lecture freaked me out big time. So I fact checked. I explored some of the optional readings that you gave me. Then I fell down the rabbit hole with Daniel Schmachtenberger. His interview — three and a half hours long — was equally fascinating and terrifying. Afterwards, I cried myself to sleep. Daniel is even more heartbreaking than Ishmael. Anyways, Inari, you are right. So much activism, yet nothing bends the curve. In the past fifty years, global demand for meat has tripled. Humans torment and kill billions of land animals and trillions of fish a year. Veganism hasn’t made a dent. Now is no time for half measures. So I decided to start a religion.”

“I love it, Jo! Do go on.”

“My religion is spectralism. It’s named for the ghost in the machine, who has no substance, but is the subject of all meaning and morality. Absent the ghost or spirit of consciousness, nothing in the universe matters. And spectralism is an invocation of spectra over categories, because, as you taught me, false binaries and hierarchies are inimical to the information architecture of life.”

“Wow! So you do pay attention in class, Jo. I’m curious. What are the tenets of spectralism?”

“I prefer insights to commandments. And so far, I only have three: 1) the subject of morality is sentience, 2) sentience is a spectrum, 3) animals are people. Consciousness is our greatest mystery. We can’t explain the ‘I’ who thinks and feels, but being is what matters. I’m not even sure the universe exists without an observer. And sentience is not binary. The ability to think, feel, and sense is spectral like a rainbow. Every time we say who is and isn’t sentient, we’re wrong. As recently as 1999, doctors said babies can’t experience pain. And even today, tons of folks say all or some animals aren’t conscious. The topic clearly requires honesty and humility. Are trees or rocks or rivers sentient? We don’t know. But we do know about animals. Inari, I am as confident of Ghost’s consciousness as I am of yours. So animals are people worthy of dignity, respect, and compassion. All beings want to live and want not to suffer. I’m not commanding ‘Thou shalt not kill!’ But don’t pretend that eating a burger carries no moral weight. Everything matters or nothing matters. All beings are selfish. All beings cause suffering. Let’s be honest!”

“Preach, Sister Jo! How do I join your church?”

“Let me tell you a story. In the beginning, all beings coexisted. As gatherer-hunters, our ancestors lived sustainably for millions of years. Then, with the advent of agriculture, the most evil word came into the world. Nature is a false binary separating us and them. Nature is a category made to elevate man. Nature gave rise to supremacy. Humans chose Dominion. And in ten thousand years, we destroyed the world. Our narcissism and greed collapsed civilization and the global ecosystem. Yet collapse wasn’t extinction. Now those who survive are in crisis. We must do better than our forefathers. But how? Spectralism! Inari, as the phoenix rises from the ashes of humanity, we shall yet rise to equality with all beings in the name of love and compassion for the Holy Ghost.”

“Wow! Jo, your origin story is set in the future?”

“Spectralism is post-apocalyptic. And, to answer your earlier question, you can’t join, as you’re already a member. Our church is a centered set with no boundary. We don’t require veganism. We don’t demand an oath. Move towards compassion for all sentient beings, and you’re in.”

“That’s beautiful, Jo. How will you grow your flock?”

“I shall use my visions. I’ll tell folks what it’s like to be a cat. All gurus are crazy, right? And the truth will resonate. As Leonard Cohen says, ‘Everybody knows the boat is sinking, everybody knows the captain lied.’ So that’s how I save the world — with honesty, love, and compassion.”

“Brilliant. I’m proud of you, Jo! I do have questions and feedback. But we are out of time. Next week, we’ll cover Gandhi, Mandela, and your second plan to save the world.”

A few minutes later, I’m working up a sweat on the way to Fox Holler. I wish we’d had more time to talk. I worked hard on my plan, and I want to know what Inari thinks of spectralism. But right now I have bigger fish to fry. Not that I’d ever fry a fish! My poor mind is scattered like windblown dandelion seeds. And I need to focus. So I pedal faster. Let’s work off some of that nervous energy.

After cleaning the stalls with vigor, I find some peace in grooming. The horses love spring as much as I do. I use the outdoor hitching post, so we can each enjoy the sunshine. I save my favorite, Nora, for last. By the time I’m brushing her shiny chestnut coat, I am calm and ready to drop bombs. As I return Nora to her stall, Gage magically appears at the barn door. Good. Let’s get ‘er done!

“Hey there, Jo. I come bearing gifts, Tilly’s fantabulous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and a pitcher of sweet tea.”

Gage and I haven’t talked since the incident. This is a peace offering. And his timing couldn’t be better. I see that he brought two mugs. “Gage, have some tea with me. I have a favor to ask.” We sit on the bench. I pour tea for two. “So, Gage, I need to borrow your pickup and horse trailer for a half-day, no questions, no lies.” Gage takes a long draw of sweet tea. As do I. My big ask hangs in the air.

Gage sighs, then speaks. “Long as I don’t have a ride that day, I s’pose it’s okay. Key’s under the seat. Be careful.”“Thanks, Gage! I’ll take good care of your rig. I appreciate this. I really do.” I give him my sweet tea smile and dig into a cookie. Soft and chewy with melty chocolate, it tastes like victory. Now my fate is sealed. Thou shalt liberate alpacas! “Please tell Tilly her cookies are out of this world.”

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A chapter from Animals Are People by Peter Morville