[henry quirk]

"I am too much of an animal lover and even if someone proved to me I was projecting my feelings onto an animal I still would not be able to stop."


And you shouldn't stop loving your animal(s). Your love for it is not in question.

My only point is the dog doesn't, can't, by its very nature, love you back at all. Or, at the least, it can't love you in that unique way reserved to the human individual.

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"Life is what we make it"


Largely: yeah.

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"sometimes we feel dogs are our enjoyable best buds and sometimes that's enough."


Agreed. I have no problem with your or Classic’s or Pie's love of your respective animals. If I gave that impression: I apologize.

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"How Did Dogs Become Adept at Playing to Humans"


Nice piece: something to think about...

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"Every being is to some degree self aware."


Maybe: but it's difficult to gauge, isn't it? You and me, we can recognize the 'I' in each other by way of our unambiguous communication. We can sit across from one another, have coffee, and talk and argue and debate and there is no question, for either of us, that our coffee companion is another 'I'.

We haven't the same certainty with a dog. Is it simply reacting to me as formal and informal training (and its biology) allows for, or, is there some dim, fragment of 'I' behind those eyes?

I don't think there is; you do think there is.

Till science can explain consciousness (and 'self') we're left with anecdote, intuition, emotion, and guesswork.

*shrug*

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"If the dogs have evolved behaviors that appear to be a approximation of human intimacy for their own benefit, then they offer the exact same type of love as my first wife."


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

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"To be able to detect an emotion would mean the animal must also recognize the same emotion in itself."


Possibly. Or it may mean the animal is adept at recognizing physical precursors to the behavior of its master. That is: the dog sees a scowl or frown and through association recognizes that master is about to make loud noises and maybe whack him on the head then push his nose into his own poo. A smile, grin, or twinkling eye may, through association, indicate to the dog that treats, dinner, a run in the park, or play session on the carpet, are just around the corner.

A tailored dog evolution, which the articles hint at, is more likely to lead to more complex survival skills, not necessarily increased intelligence or 'I'ness.