Do animals have souls? Tucked inside this question's simple
syntax is a whole herd of very big, very intriguing and quite
elusive questions. Such as, Is there a soul? And if so,
how do we define it? What is it made of, and what is its
purpose? Do all sentient beings have one—humans and
animals alike?
Ontological questions such as these pose particularly
fascinating challenges, and to tackle this one, WIE's
Ross Robertson interviewed Marc Bekoff, biology professor,
fellow of the Animal Behavior Society, and regional coordinator
for Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program. Bekoff, the author of
books with titles like, How Animals Talk, Animal
Passions and Beastly Virtues, and the three-volume,
Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, is a dedicated
scientist as well as a passionate advocate, an animal biologist,
and an ardent believer in the rich inner life of our fellow
creatures.
Bekoff's ability to blend scientific knowledge with intuitive
understanding helps to shed light on the mysterious nature of
animals' inner lives. Having closely observed elephants,
coyotes, wolves, and primates, both in captivity and in the
wild, Bekoff believes he has witnessed distinct expressions of
altruism, telepathy, empathy, sympathy, and the full range of
emotional and social experience usually considered to be found
only in members of our own species. If animals truly possess
many—or all—of the fundamental traits and capacities
we do, the implications for our own identity and for the way we relate to all of life's creation are profound indeed.
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