Response III to Anthropomorphism Question

No one has said that it is not noticeable how much personality and character pets have – we usual choose or bring one home based upon their individual characteristics that endear us to them. Yes, they do have a memory, or else training would be useless at all. Our dog Daisy is a little love-hog herself – she is manipulative, sneaky, dramatic, feisty, stubborn and even smiles when she’s happy. She is a very loyal dog and loves nothing more than to be close, have her belly scratched, or curl up in your lap. My question is whether animals have any real cognitive ability to “think”, recall any length of time, or experience heightened thought processes.

Their ‘love’ is based on an animalistic level – humans feed them, house them and provide company for them. Their loyalty is based upon their dependence of you – not that there is anything wrong with that. But unlike a human – who must love even when they are not being served, and who love on a higher, more complex and meaningful level – a dog/cat ‘loves’ the hand that feeds him/her and that is the basis for their devotion. Dogs at least are very sociable animals, and thus they enjoy attention and interaction with other humans and dogs.

I think we must be careful with the term ‘emotion’ when linked to animals for this term usually involves the soul as well. My belief is that God created humans in the “image of God” and thus with a soul; while animals are very wonderful things and to be enjoyed and protected by humans, I do not think they are existentially on the same level and thus cannot be fairly compared to them. Limited emotion in a human means that he/she is not living to their full potential…it is something that may be worked out through therapy, love, education and effort. Animals are limited simply because they are completely different creatures.