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Thursday, March 13, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Do My Cats Think?
My two cats are generally well-behaved. They are almost seven years old now. They used to be male until the vet did something to them when they were very young. They like food and they like each other, and like grooming, and like many cattish things. One is bold and the other is relatively timid. They are a part of the household, just as much as the furniture and the fridge and the garbage disposal and the toilet. It is hard now to imagine the household without cats.
The other day I read in a magazine that animals can think. There have been some very sophisticated experiments that seem to show that they can sometimes do this. But a low-level reasoning process is not the same as thought, not the same as stepping back and wondering why the world is so very beautiful, for example.
My cats are so very cuddly and they feel things I am sure. They eat and love to eat. They love to be stroked. But I have asked them if they think, and then looked deep into their eyes. They are cute eyes. But nobody is home.
I still love them. They are my cats and we have been through a lot together. We even moved states together. One even peed on the carpet for a while after that move. I even named the wet patch on the carpet after the bishop behind that move and change in pastorates.
Cats are most wonderful creatures, created by God. They do not think, however. They never ponder upon things. They are beasts. Lovely beasts, furry beasts, infuriating and at the same time loveable beasts. But they are still beasts. Bless their bippies!
The other day I read in a magazine that animals can think. There have been some very sophisticated experiments that seem to show that they can sometimes do this. But a low-level reasoning process is not the same as thought, not the same as stepping back and wondering why the world is so very beautiful, for example.
My cats are so very cuddly and they feel things I am sure. They eat and love to eat. They love to be stroked. But I have asked them if they think, and then looked deep into their eyes. They are cute eyes. But nobody is home.
I still love them. They are my cats and we have been through a lot together. We even moved states together. One even peed on the carpet for a while after that move. I even named the wet patch on the carpet after the bishop behind that move and change in pastorates.
Cats are most wonderful creatures, created by God. They do not think, however. They never ponder upon things. They are beasts. Lovely beasts, furry beasts, infuriating and at the same time loveable beasts. But they are still beasts. Bless their bippies!
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