It’s a blow to the idea that humans are the only animals to feel or express emotion in complex and surprising ways. But we can choose to anthropomorphise well, to make more accurate interpretations. Rather than exercising self-centred projection (“I know that Captain hates walking in the rain, so I shall stuff him into his waterproof sailor outfit that I find adorable”), we can recognise our shared traits (“Captain seems to dislike rain, so I will make sure he receives a treat at the first sign of thunder”). For me, the realisation that mental illness – and the capacity to recover from it – is something we share with other animals has been comforting news. When we feel our most anxious, compulsive, scared, depressed or enraged, we’re also revealing ourselves to be surprisingly like the other creatures with whom we share the planet. Where earlier generations saw madness, homesickness, nostalgia and heartbreak, vets and physicians now see anxiety and mood disorders, obsessive compulsions and depression. theguardian/science/2014/oct/04/animal-behaviour-laurel-braitman
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 07:27:57 +0000
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