Not Many Listen

In the award-winning book Regarding Animals, its authors examine “how we as human beings construct animals [and…] how we construct ourselves and others in relation to them.” Consistent among these is the importance of verticality, as embodied in Aristotle’s notion of nature (ordered from lifeless things to animals to humankind), the great chain of being (a hierarchy with human dominion over animals), and the sociozoologic scale (which ranks animals in a structure of value). I invite us, however, to consider an alternative model where the diversity of life on Earth does not lead to and culminate in humans.

There is no denying that we possess remarkable traits. Nevertheless, as Stephen Jay Gould among others has noted, it is logically, morally, and scientifically flawed to conclude that we thus occupy the pinnacle of existence. The human body has been called the “most exquisite biological ensemble the universe has ever generated,” yet it is plagued by design deficiencies. Meanwhile, the human brain is referred to as the “most complex object in the known universe,” but the essentials of human nature that help shape how we think, feel, and act are themselves evidence of our status as a simultaneously impressive and imperfect species.

This planet is now in an era of accelerating mass extinctions, most caused by human activities. The losses that have occurred are sadly irreversible, but future die-offs could be mitigated if we deconstruct the model of humans as separate from and superior to the animal kingdom. A. A. Milne once wrote, “Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem.” Milne is right. It is time to hear what our brethren in the biosphere have to tell us about their worth.