Discussion Do you think a portion of our love for animals is from pity?

[Droso]

Explain your answer in comments if possible.

 

[lamy's sacred sleep]

i've loved a few animals, mainly cats and I don't think it was out of pity, so no.

 

[Unbearable Mr. Bear]

I don't pity animals. In fact, I often envy them. Imagine having no conscience to bother you while you follow your instincts. There is no malice on an animal, even if there is suffering. Humans, on the other hand, have a conscience, and still cause suffering to each other, often maliciously so.

So yeah, animals are cool.

 

[darksouls]

I love animals because they are good souls

 

[Pluto]

 

[Forever Sleep]

I think it can be. I think most people feel pity for animals that are mistreated for instance.

Maybe there's a pity/ empathy towards any sentient creature unfortunate enough to have found themselves here. Plus, the design/ biology of some animals has got to feel shit to live with. Imagine being a slug and having to wait for it to rain to come out. So many animals live really tough lives.

 

[Gustav Hartmann]

From a biological point of view, we are animals too. So there is no reason to discriminate against non human animals, no reason for speciesism. It is more a feeling of respect to animals in general, love only for family members.

 

[bleeding_heart_show]

Yes. I feel only pity for animals (particularly "domesticated" ones).

On a somewhat related note, parents only "love" "their" children out of pity. As a child grows pity is replaced with disgust until eventually the parent is completely repulsed.

 

[CatLvr]

View attachment 168499

That was the EXACT look I had when I read this shit. The only "pity" I have for animals is that they have to suffer humans. Animals have saved my life more than once -- both literally and figuratively.

 

[Unbearable Mr. Bear]

That was the EXACT look I had when I read this shit. The only "pity" I have for animals is that they have to suffer humans. Animals have saved my life more than once -- both literally and figuratively.

Oh, I hope mama bear can help you too, just like them. *smiles and blushes*

 

[CatLvr]

Yes. I feel only pity for animals (particularly "domesticated" ones).

On a somewhat related note, parents only "love" "their" children out of pity. As a child grows pity is replaced with disgust until eventually the parent is completely repulsed.

Jesus Christ I'm glad I have always loved my kids. The only reason I would ever pity them is they were stuck with me for a mother. Poor kids. But you know what?? We did okay by ourselves.

Oh, I hope mama bear can help you too, just like them. *smiles and blushes*

A friend and I talked about this thing in me just this morning. I am STRONGLY empathic. To a fault actually.

For example, I have managed to acquire SEVEN inside cats in a little over a year simply by being in the "wrong" place at the right time. Started with the death of my last "OG Cat" FooManchu. I took a couple of kittens from a friend looking for homes for a litter she found. 6 months later I find 4 feral kittens barely 5-6 weeks old in my compost pile. Only lost one of them so now I have 5 cats. Another friend needs to rehome a sweet little thing. Ok, so she's gonna be the last one. 6 cats is more than enough. I teach them to go in the backyard but to NOT climb the fence. So far so good. We are a year in with no more cats showing up.

Yeah. About that.

Neighbor has a cat they just threw out of the house and stopped feeding. We started putting food out for her about 18 months ago. Guess who came in the house for the first time this morning?? Sigh.

 

[cemeteryismyhome]

On a somewhat related note, parents only "love" "their" children out of pity. As a child grows pity is replaced with disgust until eventually the parent is completely repulsed.

Sad but true in many cases. But I'm a parent and my love for my kids was not pity at all, it was mostly admiration for how amazing they were from the very beginning. I can't imagine being disgusted or repulsed by my kids. On the other hand, my parents, especially my father, demonstrated disgust and repulsion toward me. But I am disgusting and repulsive so that's understandable.

 

[Unbearable Mr. Bear]

Sad but true in many cases. But I'm a parent and my love for my kids was not pity at all, it was mostly admiration for how amazing they were from the very beginning. I can't imagine being disgusted or repulsed by my kids. On the other hand, my parents, especially my father, demonstrated disgust and repulsion toward me. But I am disgusting and repulsive so that's understandable.

I salute you for being probably the most important figure in the lives of almost every living being on existence: A parent.
And another one for being a good one, which is rare these days!

 

[ImnotCTB]

Pity, compassion, sympathy. These concepts claimed to be 'human', however indifference is more common than otherwise.
Love? What is love exactly? A word whose worth has been desecrated by repetition without regards to its value. At the same time, it is a word that has been given countless meanings and has been defined numerous times. Every person "gotta make their own kind of music", words changes meaning with every person. When someone says "car", someone might think about a convertible, others a sedan, mine is a family car.
There is no true answer to a question as vague when it concerns love.

However, if you mean how we place value upon a being... it depends on who is "us". To a hero, their 'love' stems from pity. To a meat eater, their 'love' stems from its taste. To a villain, should their 'love' ever exist, I believe it will be true... or otherwise it is their value... cruel when I realized that