What does it mean to be an ‘experiencing subject of a life’?, discussion help

Reply to post on 100 words.

What does it mean to be an ‘experiencing subject of a life’?

Experiencing subject of life means that each creature, whether it be human or animal has its own unique life and purpose. We as humans have our own lives, no one other human being is like me nor am I like someone else. We are all different. Just as animals, you can have two identical dogs, cats, cows, etc and no two will be alike, by appearance or even personality. My mom for example has two Chihuahuas and both are very different. One is calm and the other….well not to calm. One is definitely the alpha dog and is the leader of the two. We used to have a dog, that had puppies years ago (she passed on about 6 years ago) but when she had puppies, although they were from the same genes, were all different. Just like humans, all our children (we have 4) are each different in personalities as well as appearance.

Do you think that being the subject of a life means that one has equal inherent value?

I do feel that as humans, we are all equal however animals are not equal to us only because humans are the dominant species and animals are dependent on us to be able to truly survive. However, without the animals (used for consumption) we as the human race probably couldn’t survive either. So that makes me wonder, are we as humans really the dominant species? (I need to add, this class really has my brain thinking outside the box). Things that I thought I was clear about are now making me think again.

Does it follow from that view that animals should be given rights to life and freedom?

We have two dogs in our household one of them is an 8 year old male Maltese. The other is a 10 month old female American Staffordshire Bull Terrier (not a Pitbull but very close to one). I like to take our dog out for a nightly run with me, so that she can get her daily exercise as well as burn off some of her energy. We did not get her ears clipped, or have her tail cut. Although she has a mean, lean look on her she is quite the loving, playful dog. She does not have a mean streak in her at all. It saddens me that so many people have pre judgemental thoughts about her particular breed. No thanks to some of these humans who breed these dogs for fighting. When I take her out running, I see on a daily basis so many people ‘walk across the street’ so that they are not on the same side as us, because they think she is going to “attack” them or that she is a vicious dog. This breed of dog has been stereotyped as mean vicious killer dogs because of ignorant people who think dog fighting is a sport. This makes me so mad. I do feel that animals should be given rights to life and freedom. Who is to say that we as humans, should make decisions for our dogs? Dogs should be dogs….if you have a dog, it should be a part of your family. For those that force their dogs to fight, do you think they would force their ‘kids’ to fight? Probably not, so why is okay to force your dogs to fight? They are an extended member of your family! At least in our house, that is what our pets are to us! When I see my two dogs together, they each have their own personalities and it is funny how they get along. My maltese is meaner than my Amstaff bull terrier! He is just a grumpy old “man” dog. There are times my son will ask me, “Mom, what do you think Ralfie (maltese) or Mazzy (Amstaff) are thinking? What do you think they would sound like if they spoke like us?” I also wonder at times what is going through their head, and wonder what kind of thoughts they are having of us.