Yesterday, an essay of mine went live at The Deadlands, a lovely publication for speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction around death. My piece is a reflection on "nonhuman thanatology". In it, I question the human baseline that we often lean upon when wondering whether other animals "understand" death.
Do we? Consistently? Universally?
A little humility goes a long way in the cosmos.
Happy Friday, CoSo. 🖤🌌
@Armchaircouch Yay for new words! 🤗 Thanatos might be a "minor" mythic figure, but he sure did leave a mark on our culture's psyche!
@MLClark many horsepeople I know report that herds seem to need to go through some sort of resolution when one of their members die. It's been reported both in feral and domestic settings.
I know that the mare I had when I was a teenager was very upset about the death of my first pony. She knew he was gone. Others report that the herd is calmer if they get to sniff the body of their dead herd member. In some cases, the others want to stand around for a little bit.
@joycereynoldsward Oh, that makes so much sense! I love the word you've used for it - "resolution". Some kind of affirmation that, yes, this fellow - kindred - critter now belongs to this other state of being. And then one can begin to move on.
Thank you for sharing insights from your field!
@MLClark you're welcome.
this covered so much, nicely done!
And, THIS. I was thinking this, too:
“In other words, from what baseline are we really deciding that other animals do or do not “understand” death, when our own species varies so widely…?”
The scholars of the past that judged the non-human animals really did them, nor us, any favors. @MLClark
@Armchaircouch Oh, thanks for spending time with the piece, Kat! Glad it resonated. 🤗
thank you for writing and sharing it here! 🤗 @MLClark
I had to look up thanotology, very cool, I look forward to reading! @MLClark