A. Schopenhauer “The World as Will and Representation”. Quote 1

Saint Creature March 27, 2025 No Comments

I decided to quote thoughts that struck a chord. Like this one

“Just as the degree of sharpness of consciousness varies greatly among different people, so it varies even more between different species of animals. However, in all, even those closest to plants, consciousness is sufficient to pass from action in the immediate object to the intermediate one, as a cause, that is, to thought, to the perception of the object; for the latter is what makes them animals, because it gives them the opportunity to move according to motives and therefore to seek or, at least, to seize food, – while plants move only according to irritations and must either wait for their direct influence, or become exhausted: they are unable to seek or catch them. In the most perfect animals we are amazed at their great intelligence – for example, in the dog, the elephant, the monkey, in the fox, whose mind Buffon so skillfully described. By these most intelligent animals we can measure with sufficient accuracy how strong the mind is without the help of reason, that is, without abstract knowledge in concepts: on our own we are so We cannot know this well, because in us reason and reason always support each other. That is why the manifestations of reason in animals often turn out to be either higher or lower than we expect. On the one hand, we are struck by the intelligence of that elephant, which, despite the fact that during its journey through Europe it had already crossed many bridges, once refused to step on a bridge that seemed too unstable for its weight – although it had seen the rest of the procession of people and horses usually passing over it; on the other hand, we are surprised that intelligent orangutans do not support the fire they find, at which they warm themselves, by laying wood: the latter proves that such intelligence is required here that is impossible without abstract concepts. Knowledge of cause and effect, as a general operation of reason, is even a priori characteristic of animals; this is quite evident from the fact that for them, as for us, it is a prerequisite for any visual knowledge of the external world. If any further special proof of this is desired, it is only necessary to recall that, for example, even a perfect puppy, with all its desire, does not dare to jump off the table, because it anticipates the weight of its body, although it has not previously had a completely corresponding experience. However, in discussing the mind of animals, we must be careful not to attribute to it what is a manifestation of instinct – a faculty that is quite different in its action from both it and reason, but often very similar to the combined activity of both.”

I saw this video and remembered this quote. It’s amazing how the dog trusted an unknown mechanism and didn’t try to escape from it, knowing that they would help her. Is this a manifestation of instinct? Or trust? Or intelligence? It’s hard to say. But it’s interesting to read these thoughts through the examples you encounter.