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If you’ve ever wondered what your cat or dog is thinking, you might be pleased to know that environmentalist and writer Karl Safina makes it clear in his 2015 TED talk: All animals are capable of thinking and feeling. But when this truth gets in the way of human tendencies to do what we want – such as eating, hunting, or otherwise using other animals for personal gain – we tend to overlook the fact that other living things we live with lead the planet. a rich and meaningful life, just like us. This is called arrogance – the selfish belief that all other species are inferior and therefore we can use – and this is as illogical as it is destructive.
Share Safina’s 20-minute conversation with your students and use the questions below to stimulate class discussion on people’s relationships with other animals. Then use the following steps to continue the conversation, encouraging students to brainstorm and take important steps to reduce arrogance in their lives.
Questions and answers
1. What does Safina mean when she says: “Our brain is inherited”? Why is it important?
Respond: The first neurons evolved from jellyfish. Jellyfish gave rise to the first chordal. Then the first chordates gave rise to the first vertebrates. In other words, it is likely that humans and all other animals on Earth evolved from these early life forms and therefore share basic characteristics in common. Safina notes that a neuron looks the same in cancer, birds, humans, and all other animals, and as a result, our brains function the same.
2. Give three examples of the scheme that Safina notes in relation to people towards other animals.
Respond: People eat crayfish, which tend to be anxious; octopuses, which use tools like most monkeys and recognize faces; and sea bass, which communicates and works with moray eels to hunt fish.
3. Describe how elephants behave when they hear the pre-recorded sounds of tourists and the pre-recorded sounds of the shepherds.
Answers: When elephants hear the sounds of tourists, they ignore them because tourists rarely disturb the elephants. But when they hear the sounds of the shepherds, they get together and run away, because the shepherds carry spears and often injure elephants during clashes.
4. What does Safina mean when she says: “We are relatives by skin”?
Respond: No matter how we look, where we live or what we are capable of, humans and all other animals want to take care of our babies, find food and stay alive. Safina notes that people are not the only ones who help others, explore the unknown, get closer to family members, give and receive affection and mates in the yard – other animals also do the same.
We are relatives under the skin.
5. How Safina defines sympathy? How is empathy useful?
Respond: Safina defines empathy as “the ability of the mind to match the mood of your comrades.” The ability to empathize helps animals survive. For example, if an animal’s companions begin to move quickly, it is probably in that animal’s best interest to move quickly to avoid danger.
6. Safina describes the interaction he often has with his dog when she approaches him and then rolls over, revealing his belly, clearly asking him to rub it. According to him, this is evidence that his dog can think and feel. Have you ever seen an animal that clearly thought and felt? If yes, please describe your observation. If not, think back to a time when you and the other person spoke without words.
The answer will depend on the experience of the student. Encourage students to think about observations they have made of their companion animals, wildlife in their area, or animals they have seen in nature documentaries.
7. Describe what people did to the wolves in Yellowstone National Park. What happened to the pack that Safina was watching?
Respond: Rangers killed all the wolves in Yellowstone National Park in the 1920s. Sixty years later, people brought the wolves back to the park because the moose population got out of control. When the flock, which Safina noticed, went outside the park, two adults, including the mother, were killed. The rest of the flock turned towards each other and disintegrated, causing one female to go outside the park and be shot, leaving the alpha male without his territory, his hunting support, and his family just before winter came.
8. Safina describes an incident in which a group of spotted dolphins did not approach a research vessel they were familiar with because they somehow sensed that one of the people on board had recently died. Can we always explain why animals do what they do? Is our misunderstanding a good reason to take advantage of them? Explain your answer.
The answer will depend on the experience of the student. To help students, ask them if it is appropriate to take advantage of another person they do not understand.
9. Why does Safina describe people as “the most extreme”? How can we use our “extreme” abilities to help others instead of hurting them?
Respond: He says that humans are “the most compassionate, most brutal, most creative and most destructive animals that this planet has ever been.” We are able to communicate and organize in a way that other animals cannot, so we can solve difficult problems, but at the same time do great harm. We must use our intelligence and sophistication to find ways to live peacefully with animals.
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After watching and discussing Safina’s talk, remind students that all animals, not just those mentioned in the video, are capable of thinking and feeling and therefore deserve our attention. With this in mind, ask students to work in small groups to list three to five meaningful steps they can take to be more considerate of other animals and reduce speculation in their lives. These ideas can be inspired by videos, or students can learn more about arrogance and all the ways humans exercise their dominance over other animals, and use that information to build their lists.
Here are some examples of how students could be more considerate of other animals and reduce speculation in their lives:
- Avoid using language directed against animals (for example, say “feed two birds with one stone” instead of “kill two birds with one stone”) and never refer to animals as “he,” “she,” or “they”. “
- Only use personal care products and household cleaners that have not been tested on animals.
- Never participate in animal autopsies and ask for humane options.
- Become a vegan.
- Swap animal-based materials lik
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wool, leather, fur and down in your wardrobe for warm, stylish and sustainable vegan items. - Avoid sources of entertainment that use animals, such as animal circuses, roadside zoos, and marine parks.
Letting go of arrogance takes time, so keep the conversation going with the Challenge of Assumptions, TeachKind’s Social Justice Curriculum for Grades 9-12. Lessons are designed to educate and empower students to challenge social norms and instill empathy and empathy in others, regardless of race, gender, sexual identity, age, or ability.
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