Waking up

I’m getting better at interpreting Shanti’s feelings. It’s relatively easy to tell when he’s fearful, tense or frustrated; fear and anger are the emotions humans are most likely to concede to animals. It’s harder, however, to recognize and acknowledge joy, playfulness and sociability. Parrots are not domesticated dogs who run to greet you, wag their tails and jump up on your lap. For one thing, birds have less expressive faces. But after a while, you learn the beat and can dance to the rhythm of a parrot’s inner glow and joie de vivre.

Why is it important to concede that animals have feelings, emotional experiences and an inner life? Because a revolution in our treatment of animals will follow.

If we begin to ascribe to birds, cows, rats and monkeys the level of awareness we take for granted in our pet dogs, we will dramatically change the ethics of our biosphere. We will be morally obliged to stop making excuses for the depraved indifference we often show to our fellow beings.

Not all life is sentient. The philosopher Daniel Denett has noted that some forms of life, like trees, never wake up. Figuring out just where, when and how sentience kicks in is a challenge for the 21st century. Neuroscience, evolutionary psychology and other disciplines will bring us ever closer to distinguishing animal sentience and feelings from the deep sleep of trees. As that happens, behavioral science will help us communicate with animals. Legal scholars and politicians will develop better laws to protect and respect other beings.

In the meantime, however, the ones who need to “wake up” are us.

We’ve got to do the hard introspective thinking and the heavy lifting of daily interaction with animal life and animal products.

We also need to lobby our educational institutions to emphasize environmentalism, animal rights and ethics in science teaching. Compassionate science, untethered in its pursuit of truth, ultimately can overcome vested interests, prejudices and deeply ingrained biases. Scientists have followed the evidence to tell us the truth about global warming, overpopulation, the toxicity and addictive qualities of nicotine, homosexuality and a myriad of other issues long cloaked in superstition and ignorance. Empowered by compassionate science, ethicists can guide us in interpreting advances and reducing the harm done by prejudice and greed; environmentalists can implement our collective wisdom and understanding; and we can all participate in good conscience. We can become a world of minimal hunting, minimal factory farming, minimal animal experimentation in laboratories, minimal exploitation of animals for entertainment and frivolous consumer goods.

When the Shantis of the world are freer, we too are freer. When they are better off, we too are better off.