Do Animals Have Souls?
It's not easy to avoid the Chain of Being around here, living with a dozen+
cats, two dogs, and various tropical fish.
That count is somewhat arbitrary, as it does not include the several
semi-feral beasts living in the woods near the house, who have come to expect
from me some assistance in fulfilling their basic dietary needs. I recall a
line in "The Little Prince" by Saint Exupery about becoming responsible for
those whom you help. I’m afraid that responsibility sometimes tells on me.
Some would question whether animals have souls. That question almost always
marks the asker as a Jew or a Christian. Most other religions seem to have
resolved the question in the animals’ favor. I don’t know exactly what a soul
is, but I think I know it when I see it. I don’t always see a soul in a Jew or
a Christian. I always see a soul in an animal.
As always, the question is not one of type, but of degree. Judeo-Christian
religions believe that man was created to have dominion over the animals. They
believe that a definitive demarcation line may be drawn, to separate them from
the animals.
In my experience, no such line exists. Humans may pride themselves in the
fullness and complexity of their emotions -- but I see every human
emotion and behavior displayed in my animal wards: love, anger, jealousy,
pride, humor, slothfulness, generosity, happiness, sympathy, despair. The only
difference I can detect is that, unlike humans, animals are incapable of
deferring expression of those states. And animals never exhibit, in
absolute terms, sinful behavior – unless you include some occasional,
unpredictable, raw maliciousness. But that is usually a well-deserved reaction
to our inconsiderate treatment of them.
I know what you’re thinking. No, I'm not a vegetarian. But, were it not
for the miracle of American packaging, I probably would be. I'm still capable
of temporarily suspending belief that the juicy red slab of steak on my plate
actually came from a fellow planetary citizen with sad brown eyes – and with a
soul.
