Whenever I see the name “Crispin Sartwell” on the Opinion Pages, my ears always perk up. Not just because he’s a kick-ass philosopher who plies his trade in Carlisle, PA – the town where I was born. And not just because it’s a great name in and of itself. (I mean, c’mon. If he went by “John Smith” do you really think anyone would take note?) But mostly because he’s usually got something interesting to say. And he always says it so well.
For instance, he did a WSJ piece on migrant Adams county apple-pickers a while back that really raised some eyebrows in my natal land. And now comes this, titled “Humans are Animals. Let’s Get Over it.” And the byline to set the hook and draw us in? “It’s astonishing how relentlessly Western philosophy has strained to prove we are not squirrels.” O man. This is gonna be fun.
A sample.
If one were to read through the prefaces and first paragraphs of the canonical works of Western philosophy, one might assume the discipline’s primary question to be this: What makes us humans so much better than all the other animals? Really, it’s astonishing how relentless this theme is in the whole history of philosophy. The separation of people from, and the superiority of people to, members of other species is a good candidate for the originating idea of Western thought. And a good candidate for the worst.
The Great Philosopher will, before addressing himself to the deep ethical and metaphysical questions, pause for the conventional, ground-clearing declaration: “I am definitely not a squirrel.” This is evidently something that needs continual emphasis.
Rationality and self-control, as philosophers underline again and again, give humans a value that squirrels lack, a moral status unique to us. We are conscious, and squirrels, allegedly, are not. Rational, and squirrels are not. Free, and squirrels are not.
We can congratulate ourselves on the threat averted. But if we truly believed we were so much better than squirrels, why have we spent thousands of years driving home the point?
I won’t spoil it for you. Click the link if you’re so inclined.
But to sum up, here’s the ending.
There is no doubt that human beings are distinct from other animals, though not necessarily more distinct than other animals are from one another. But maybe we’ve been too focused on the differences for too long. Maybe we should emphasize what all us animals have in common. Our resemblance to squirrels doesn’t have to be interpreted as a threat to our self-image. Instead, it could be seen as a hopeful sign that we will someday be better at tree leaping.
You, of course, speak for yourself.