Reason?

“He who makes a beast of himself forgets the pain of being a man.”

-Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Please be forewarned – I am writing this on my birthday. Birthday’s, for me, are not joyous, happy occasions. They aren’t depressing, suicidal affairs – but they are tinged with melancholy, loss, and heartache. I am always glad when they come, and even more so when they go. So if you are looking for positive, uplifting rhetoric, this probably won’t be the week for you. Anyway, onward and inward.

I have a good friend I converse with on occasion who happens to be a devout Catholic – so much so that he is currently studying to enter into the priesthood. We got into a discussion recently about whether or not animals are capable of reason. I was arguing that they are. My examples included the ability of chimpanzees to manufacture tools they use for fishing termites; and the fact that both elephants and chimpanzees mourn their dead. But I think my friend is on the right side of the argument; I’m not sure if animals are capable of reason. They understand how to do things, and they understand their feelings; but reason requires asking “why?” Why do the termites live in that log? Why do we die? Ultimately why are we here? Animals have no reason for reason. They don’t have to ask why they are here; they just are – and that is enough.

Humans on the other hand, we have a lot of good reasons for asking why we are here – because our existence in this weird, semi-hairless, big-brained, dim-witted form raises more questions than answers. Other animals are part of the natural order of things – every creature in its place in the chain of life and death. But we manipulate, we excavate, we desecrate and destroy all that is around us. We exert our will onto the earth and we exploit her and the rest of her creatures for everything they are worth. Most of the good things we do on this planet are for the benefit or entertainment of other humans. Eventually, now that we have wreaked so much havoc on the natural order, there are those amongst us working to the benefit of the planet and her creatures. But even these noble souls, at humanity’s very best, are only trying to undo the damage we have already done. The animal shelter is for the domestic animals we have recklessly allowed to breed, without considering how they will be taken care of. The animal sanctuary is for the creatures who have managed to escape from our factory-modeled food systems. Those who reforest only patch the work done by the exploiters who came before them. We are a parasite.

My Catholic friend says we were put on this planet to admire God’s creation – that He created this beautiful world and then realized there was no one to appreciate it. My friend also won’t concede that we have overpopulated the planet. He says: “the problem isn’t overpopulation – the problem is greed.” Again, he’s right – but I have to remind him that we live here on Earth, and while we are allegedly capable of reason, we apparently haven’t learned how to use it yet.

Madbob@madbob.com