There’s no way that human domestication of wild felines and canines hasn’t profoundly ingrained an influential impact on the cognitive behavioral patterns and social nature of these sentient, intelligent animals, as it is highly evident in the degree of cerebral and physical functionality and depth that these beings are observed to possess – especially in social and habitual aspects as well as their interactions with each other and other members of different species.
In the same way that human beings synchronize their behavior and actions with other humans during shared activities and interactions in situations as simple as walking alongside each other (which is an example of something known as interspecific synchronization), dogs and cats are known to be extremely sensitive to human behavioral traits such as cues, body language, and emotions, as they share and already have shared deeply close-knit bonds with their human companions over the course of centuries upon centuries of interspecies relationships fostered through the unbreakable bond that mankind has solidified with these furry modern-day cuties, who are the descendants of wild, feral animals who came into contact with and developed a mutually-beneficial relationship with our early ancestors.
This cosmic occurrence of an unexpected friendship between man and animal in a biological twist of coincidentally phenomenal fate has distinctly and formatively influenced the overall course of evolution for both species in a diverse array of aspects, one of which being the way humans hunt, the way domesticated animals look and behave, and the way that the two species interacted with each other and lived in harmony together on planet Earth in a profound and fulfilling relationship spanning thousands of years of co-existence and love for one another.
The sentimental bond between man and animal is just so picture perfect and too good to be true that it makes us wish that they really do go to heaven when they leave this planet, or that there was some way to know that they do. We all love our pets very much, and sometimes these furry buddies are all that people have in their lives to keep them from the brink of depression or disability. The love that we and our pets share for each other is simply too genuine to be coincidence, and it is this belief that inspires us to believe that, just like for us humans, maybe there’s something out there after this existence – one that includes them. This particular hope is the inspiration for a heartwarmingly well-crafted Lynda Hamblen book with an indomitable kitten and his loving family of humans and fellow cats starring as the lead characters – a beautiful book that paints the picture of a loving relationship that transcends life and death, with peace and harmony for beloved pets in the afterlife.
It’s apparent that there’s an absolute truth to the old saying that reveres dogs as man’s best friend. From an evolutionary standpoint, it is highly agreeable that dogs and cats are truly the loving companions of mankind, and the bond that we share with our beloved furry companions transcends that of any other friendship among any two species observed throughout the entire animal kingdom, and it differs from any other interspecies relationship ever observed in the overall history of man – let alone the entire biological history of life’s existence as a whole.
It’s known and noteworthy to mention that the degree of sentience and self-consciousness that human beings and domesticated species possess is and was existent before the evolutionary course of our ancestors became intertwined and interrelated with the course of theirs. However, there is no absolute certainty towards the degree of consciousness that forest-dwelling animals possess despite advancing breakthroughs in cognitive sciences. It’s understood that these beings experience sound, touch, scent, vision and even taste, but there’s no evidence to prove that they are capable of processing the stimuli in any meaningful or profound way. A deeper, more comprehensive analysis of the degree of certain animals’ intelligence is required to give clarity and context to this subject. Intelligence is the most definitive and distinct aspect of observable consciousness, and we know that impoverished, untrained, or malnutritious animals do not particularly exhibit sentient attributes, as do animals of less-complex brain structure and physical intricacy.
However, it is generally plausible to assume the probability of the fact that certain animals may possess an indefinite, unquantifiable degree of sentient awareness that may not be “conscious” in the same sense that humans are. A common trait of human beings is the embodied, pre-conceived notion that we know everything, including that which is unprovable by modern means. But the reality is that we may never truly be able to measure or even fathom the complete degree of sentience or consciousness of other animals until the technology or methodology of a new invention or discovery in cognitive science permits it. Until then, we can only assume, postulate, hypothesize and theoreticize – all synonyms of observation, but no solid conclusion to the time-old mystery.
Alex Writes 