Birds and Souls
Hi all,
Before we get started, please join all of us here at eBirdseed.com in congratulating Maria for winning the “’Tis the Season to be Jolly (to the Tune of $100)” contest. (Maria’s entry may be seen here.) Well done Maria! And a tip of the cap to all the other entrants as well. You guys did some great work.
Now on to this post...
The photo below, (sorry for the repeat, but it's one of the only decent pictures I've ever taken) got me to thinking about an old debate in philosophy... “Do animals have souls?” Roughly 350 years ago, the brilliant mathematician and philosopher René Descartes claimed that non-humans had no soul. He referred to them as soulless machines. That sentiment lingers even today.
And much more relative to this blog, “Do birds have souls?”
Hmmm...
Where to begin? First understand... I am not religious. I was raised in a Christian household, but I am an agnostic. I am an engineer. What follows is from an engineer’s point of view.
Now, do birds have souls? Well, let’s start at the beginning... What’s a soul? The classic definition is that a soul is defined as the ethereal essence of a thinking, self-aware, being. I guess the key terms here are “thinking” and “self-aware”...
The first question asks if birds can think... DUH! Try stopping crows from getting at the feed you set out for small birds. We’ll see who can think.
But the second one isn’t so easy... Are birds “self-aware”? I’d say “yes” for several reasons.
So there you go. I for one think René was wrong. Besides, an afterlife without birds is just too silly to propose.
I’d like to end this on a happy note, but I can’t. Take a good look at the face above... Look at the legs... Look at the neck... Maybe we’re asking the wrong question about birds and souls right from the git go. In this day and age of suicide bombers in the Mid East, and kids killing each other in America for possession of clothing and jewelry, maybe we need to ask the tougher question of whether humans can be self-aware or even think... What of our souls?
This is a tangled world we live in, but at least there are the birds.
See you by the feeders,
Alan
P.S. Comments most welcome. Just click on the "Comments" button immediately below this post.
Before we get started, please join all of us here at eBirdseed.com in congratulating Maria for winning the “’Tis the Season to be Jolly (to the Tune of $100)” contest. (Maria’s entry may be seen here.) Well done Maria! And a tip of the cap to all the other entrants as well. You guys did some great work.
Now on to this post...
The photo below, (sorry for the repeat, but it's one of the only decent pictures I've ever taken) got me to thinking about an old debate in philosophy... “Do animals have souls?” Roughly 350 years ago, the brilliant mathematician and philosopher René Descartes claimed that non-humans had no soul. He referred to them as soulless machines. That sentiment lingers even today.
And much more relative to this blog, “Do birds have souls?”
Hmmm...
Where to begin? First understand... I am not religious. I was raised in a Christian household, but I am an agnostic. I am an engineer. What follows is from an engineer’s point of view.
Now, do birds have souls? Well, let’s start at the beginning... What’s a soul? The classic definition is that a soul is defined as the ethereal essence of a thinking, self-aware, being. I guess the key terms here are “thinking” and “self-aware”...
The first question asks if birds can think... DUH! Try stopping crows from getting at the feed you set out for small birds. We’ll see who can think.
But the second one isn’t so easy... Are birds “self-aware”? I’d say “yes” for several reasons.
- It’s been my unfortunate task to watch several small creatures, (including birds) die, “up close and personal”. And without exception, I saw creatures cognizant beyond fear and pain. Bluntly, I’m pretty sure that they knew that their own beings were coming to an end. Ask anyone who’s ever been present when a pet cat or dog has been put down – the animal knows of its own impending demise.
- One of the hallmarks of self-awareness is awareness of others. And close to the top of that calculus is the interaction of “play”. Consider this... Eagle pairs will frequently snatch snakes, carry them aloft, and then drop them only to take turns snatching the prey before it hits the ground. It is, quite simply, an aerial game of “catch” or “tag”. And that takes an awareness of “your turn, and my turn”. Once again, we have self-awareness.
- And then there’s DNA... Genetically speaking, how close would you guess that humans are to birds? Do we share 1% of the same DNA code? 5%? 10%? No, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute the number is more like 60% to 75%. Like it or not, we are hard wired to birds. And that most likely relates to a thinking, self-aware being.
So there you go. I for one think René was wrong. Besides, an afterlife without birds is just too silly to propose.
I’d like to end this on a happy note, but I can’t. Take a good look at the face above... Look at the legs... Look at the neck... Maybe we’re asking the wrong question about birds and souls right from the git go. In this day and age of suicide bombers in the Mid East, and kids killing each other in America for possession of clothing and jewelry, maybe we need to ask the tougher question of whether humans can be self-aware or even think... What of our souls?
This is a tangled world we live in, but at least there are the birds.
See you by the feeders,
Alan
P.S. Comments most welcome. Just click on the "Comments" button immediately below this post.
Comments
Alan,
After living with pet birds for 22 years (the parrot,macaw and cockatoo families) I can assure you that birds are thinking beings and very self-aware. Even to the point of using human language labels to communicate what they want. And observing their interaction with each other (I have 14 birds) leaves no doubt about their self awareness. No one will ever convince me that animals do not have souls. If we observe birds and other animals in their natural habitat we must come to the same conclusion. I agree with your comments and appreciate your sharing them.
Posted by: Shari | December 21, 2006 6:31 PM