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LOVED THIS BOOK! I was a little intimidated at first, worried that it would be too academic, but it's very accessible and easy to read. And fascinating! Besides getting to know Alex, the personality-plus African grey parrot and star of the story, I loved reading about Dr. Pepperberg's musings on how research on animal behavior and language acquisition influences how we see ourselves as humans and our place in the hierarchy of nature.
Dr. Pepperberg's overview of the human attitude of conquering/subduing/using nature reminded me of how we humans have lost touch with our connection to nature, and see it as resource for our use and abuse--and now our oceans are clogged with plastic and our atmosphere is heating up and our bodies are polluted with toxins and pseudo-food.
Dr. Pepperberg's ideas about where this all started stem from thousands of years ago: From the book (page 215): "Aristotle, in the fourth century B.C.E. constructed a view of the natural world that is, in its essence, still with us. He ordered all living and nonliving thins on a ladder of perceived importance based on the mind. Humans were at the top...On lower rungs were the lesser creatures and finally the plants...The Judeo-Christian tradition enthusiastically adopted Aristotle's blueprint, in which humans were given dominion over all living things and the earth. This description of nature came to be known as the Great Chain of Being. Humans were not only different from all other of God's creatures, but also distinctly superior...All other living things were for our exploitation."
I'm sure it's too simple to say this all goes back to Aristotle's ladder of hierarchy, but it did make me wonder--what would happen if we adopted a new view of nature? One that does not center on dominance and abuse, but us understanding how dependent we all are every link in the web, from whales to mites, and placing value on ALL living things?
Another quote from page 222: “The most profound lesson that Alex taught us concerns the place of Homo sapiens in nature. The revolution in animal cognition of which Alex was an important part teaches us that humans are not unique...We are not superior to all other beings in nature. The idea of humans’ separateness from the rest of nature is no longer tenable. Ales taught us that we are a part of nature, not apart from nature. The “separateness” notion was a dangerous illusion that gave us permission to exploit every aspect of the natural world—animal, plant, mineral—without consequences. We are now facing those consequences: poverty, starvation, and climate change, for example.
Dr. Pepperberg's overview of the human attitude of conquering/subduing/using nature reminded me of how we humans have lost touch with our connection to nature, and see it as resource for our use and abuse--and now our oceans are clogged with plastic and our atmosphere is heating up and our bodies are polluted with toxins and pseudo-food.
Dr. Pepperberg's ideas about where this all started stem from thousands of years ago: From the book (page 215): "Aristotle, in the fourth century B.C.E. constructed a view of the natural world that is, in its essence, still with us. He ordered all living and nonliving thins on a ladder of perceived importance based on the mind. Humans were at the top...On lower rungs were the lesser creatures and finally the plants...The Judeo-Christian tradition enthusiastically adopted Aristotle's blueprint, in which humans were given dominion over all living things and the earth. This description of nature came to be known as the Great Chain of Being. Humans were not only different from all other of God's creatures, but also distinctly superior...All other living things were for our exploitation."
I'm sure it's too simple to say this all goes back to Aristotle's ladder of hierarchy, but it did make me wonder--what would happen if we adopted a new view of nature? One that does not center on dominance and abuse, but us understanding how dependent we all are every link in the web, from whales to mites, and placing value on ALL living things?
Another quote from page 222: “The most profound lesson that Alex taught us concerns the place of Homo sapiens in nature. The revolution in animal cognition of which Alex was an important part teaches us that humans are not unique...We are not superior to all other beings in nature. The idea of humans’ separateness from the rest of nature is no longer tenable. Ales taught us that we are a part of nature, not apart from nature. The “separateness” notion was a dangerous illusion that gave us permission to exploit every aspect of the natural world—animal, plant, mineral—without consequences. We are now facing those consequences: poverty, starvation, and climate change, for example.