Okay, I'm goin' deep on this one so bear with me here for a moment.
I came across this article in this morning's NYP...A dog's inner world is far deeper than we realize; 'they love their lives more than we love ours'
After reading the article, the gist seems to be that dogs love their lives more than humans do because dogs lack the ability to reflect on their lives. Said a different way, because dogs don't remember the past very well they enjoy the present moment more. The article refers to a mal-adjusted part-Wolf whose master is the author of a popular book. It points out how the dog loves to chase iguanas in Florida day after day. I actually don't think they could have picked a better example to cite...for all the things wrong with this line of thinking! (Here's where we go deep...)
If a human does something bad today, some morally reprehensible act, if they're well adjusted to society they will remember this act and likely not do the same again tomorrow. In other words, they will reflect on past deeds to govern their conduct in the future. Dogs, well, not so much. The dog they cited in the article admittedly starts fights with other male dogs, attacks female dogs, pees on things it's not supposed to and is a generally unwelcome member at dog parks. BUT...he apparently 'enjoys' his life far better than humans do. If a human were to act the same way as the dog, named Shadow, acts they too would be unwelcome members of society, but hey...they enjoy their lives more, right? Wrong. Very wrong.
If we examine this "philosophy" at an abstract level it suggests people should ignore the cultural and societal norms of society at large and be just as "jiggy" as they wanna' be. Is this the right message today? Or, is this part of what is wrong with society today??? I firmly believe it's the latter of these two.
This type of philosophy is not new; it has been around for a while. I remember in college many moons ago having to read a philosophy book by Jean-Paul Sartre. I never liked Sartre, and I liked him even less after being forced to read one of his tomes. He was a Marxist and a closet Communist (and this is being nice), but there's more. He was at the heart of the..."be just as jiggy as you wanna' be"...culture. Ever since then there has been a growing mentality of the liberal left that being a radical non-conformist and shit-stirrer was cool. Needless to say, I heartily disagree.
So, now we have an accepted publication which serves essentially as an instruction manual for how to get more enjoyment out of life. A book written by a guy about his dog, Shadow, who attacks other dogs, pisses on anything and everything and doesn't fit in to society. And this is how we, society, should work to improve the enjoyment of our lives?
I think not. What do you think?
I came across this article in this morning's NYP...A dog's inner world is far deeper than we realize; 'they love their lives more than we love ours'
After reading the article, the gist seems to be that dogs love their lives more than humans do because dogs lack the ability to reflect on their lives. Said a different way, because dogs don't remember the past very well they enjoy the present moment more. The article refers to a mal-adjusted part-Wolf whose master is the author of a popular book. It points out how the dog loves to chase iguanas in Florida day after day. I actually don't think they could have picked a better example to cite...for all the things wrong with this line of thinking! (Here's where we go deep...)
If a human does something bad today, some morally reprehensible act, if they're well adjusted to society they will remember this act and likely not do the same again tomorrow. In other words, they will reflect on past deeds to govern their conduct in the future. Dogs, well, not so much. The dog they cited in the article admittedly starts fights with other male dogs, attacks female dogs, pees on things it's not supposed to and is a generally unwelcome member at dog parks. BUT...he apparently 'enjoys' his life far better than humans do. If a human were to act the same way as the dog, named Shadow, acts they too would be unwelcome members of society, but hey...they enjoy their lives more, right? Wrong. Very wrong.
If we examine this "philosophy" at an abstract level it suggests people should ignore the cultural and societal norms of society at large and be just as "jiggy" as they wanna' be. Is this the right message today? Or, is this part of what is wrong with society today??? I firmly believe it's the latter of these two.
This type of philosophy is not new; it has been around for a while. I remember in college many moons ago having to read a philosophy book by Jean-Paul Sartre. I never liked Sartre, and I liked him even less after being forced to read one of his tomes. He was a Marxist and a closet Communist (and this is being nice), but there's more. He was at the heart of the..."be just as jiggy as you wanna' be"...culture. Ever since then there has been a growing mentality of the liberal left that being a radical non-conformist and shit-stirrer was cool. Needless to say, I heartily disagree.
So, now we have an accepted publication which serves essentially as an instruction manual for how to get more enjoyment out of life. A book written by a guy about his dog, Shadow, who attacks other dogs, pisses on anything and everything and doesn't fit in to society. And this is how we, society, should work to improve the enjoyment of our lives?
I think not. What do you think?