Theory of the self

By Christine I. Royales AC11

In everyday life we commit ourselves to continue on what we have started from.

There might be some struggles and different purpose in this World; yet the main reason that

keeps us to continue life will always lead us in going back to the question “How far can we

can we say that we are done with our purpose in this World?” Our life was not easy journey

since there would be so many problems that burden us in achieving success. We might

tumble and get loss in so many ways but the most important is that we know ourselves and

continue to pursue what we want to prove for the betterment of the society.

Along with human, 1Animals share with us the privilege of having a soul. However

the animals main purpose in throughout of their lifetime was to survive and some leave some

footprints in someone’s lives. Animals has a less essence as human because their abilities is

very limited unlike human who have so much capacity to innovate. It is said that it is allowed

to kill animals for food but not allowed to kill human for food. It is because in real life human

are different from animals, through genetics it might be very crucial for an animal to kill

human since we are more intelligent from them, yet it still doesn’t include those human who

are less intelligent from animals. Such as an elephant have a brain three times bigger than

a human brain but still human are consider as a the most intelligent creation. It is debatable

that humans are from a kind of ape called chimpanzee and also a monkey same as man came

from a chimpanzee. The gap of this differences is primarily because of the 2episodic memory

which is the procedural memory and declarative memory. In which the procedural memory

are the characteristics that a human and animals have, it involves human and animals can

walk, swim, hear, talk, and see. The declarative memory consist of sematic and episodic

memory, where in the sematic is the remembering the facts that we know in this World;

however, Episodic is about remembering the things that happened to us. It seems that

1
Luna, A. (n.d.) The Origin of the Spirit Animals, Totem, and Power Animal (Lonerwolf.com). Retrieved from
https://lonerwolf.com/spirit-animal-origin/
2
Marvison, J. C. (2016 December 8). Not just Intellegence: why humans deserved to be treated better than animals.
Retrieved from https://speakingofresearch.com/2016/12/06/not-just-intelligence-why-humans-deserve-to-be-
treated-better-than-animals/
humans are truly unique through episodic memory because it a subjective experiences by

human alone. The animals are limited to their present and current motivational state, while

humans can travel mentally through subjective experiences. More so, humans can control

within it’s their selves when a circumstances happens, yet animals can’t.

From Ancient, animals are considered as a scared creation up until this day some

religion believes in that principle especially 3Hinduism. Where they created some practices

to honor and worship animals. Some countries are not allowed to kill animals for the reason

that they have It is because by being kind to the animal would not lead to a person being an

animals in the next life, primarily it happens when a person is believing in the perspective

of incarnation or afterlife. Yet some used animals as an offering to the God for the blessing

a family received. One example of it was lamb which had been used it the time of Jesus as

offering to the God and it appears in some of the circumstance in the bible.

Furthermore, the society adapt to the cultural perception of animals that some

animals are used to give elaboration to the love one who passes already. Such as butterflies

is used to symbolize to special someone who died that it means that we a butterfly show-up

out of nowhere it would means a you are being visited by the person the person you missed

or already died. Also, an alive chick is used to bury with the person who died, it is because

it means the person who died didn’t get his/her justice yet or the person who killed him/her

is not yet arrested. By that the person’s soul will wander in this earth until his/her justice

was given and it also when the justice is already committed the chick will die.

Animals are oftenly shown in superstition beliefs because it only prove how animals

are connected to the humans’ fate. 4Black cat is a famous superstition belief that had ever

followed in our society, it is because when a cat and a person crossed its path, it is said it

would mean a bad luck to the person. A big cat is said to be dangerous at night because it

disguised as an evil witch, that when a person and a big cat crossed at night it would mean

3
Gazur B. (September 22, 2017). 10 Animals Worshipped as Holy. Retrieved from
https://listverse.com/2017/09/22/10-animals-worshipped-as-holy/
4
Advance IPM. (n. d.) Thirteen Animal Superstitions. Retrieved from https://advancedipm.com/blog/thirteen-
animal-superstitions/
that a person might die. Another one is a bat, it is because a bat is believed to be known as

evil disguised in it since it is active in night and resembles to a vampire. A half human and

half horse is known as “tikbalang”, it is said that a “tikbalang” is dangerous since it can kill

a person. When a rain poured and the sun still shine it means that a “tikbalang” couple is

getting married.

Our pets are regarded commonly as representative of self and studies show that we

attempt to infer characteristics of people from their pets (Foote 1956; Heiman 1967). People

consider their pets to be belong in their family, in which we name our pets, feed and care

for them, photograph them, spend money on them, talk to them, protect them, sleep and

play with them, and mourn to their death (Hickrod and Schmitt 1982; Meer 1984). In

taking care a pet is similarly to taking care of a human and when a pet died the mourning is

similar to which occurs due to the loss of home or family member, it is because an

attachment is made with human and pets. The process of coping up might be different from

every human depending on how far we attach ourselves to our pet. It is because some human

after losing a pet they would but or find another pet that symbolized a life after a death; yet

other people would buy a pet similar to the previous pet to make them feel that they didn’t

loss anything after all; and some people would not get a pet anymore for they hate the idea

of losing or departing. Pets are instruments to a self-identity that they are often useful as

transition object upon growing-up. Like in some cases pet can be a substitute parent for a

child and a pet can be a substitute child for a parent.

5
Human being are rational animals. “For Thomas Aquinas, the human is a paradox.

As "rational animals", we are the only species that straddles the divide between matter and

spirit. We do not just inhabit the material world – we interpret it, discern order within it,

derive meaning from it and act decisively upon it. Our intellects transcend their material

confines with a unique freedom and imagination.” It only mean that human is the one who

gives meaning to this World because without human there would be no one who can name

5
Beattie, T. (February 27, 2012). Thomas Aquinas, part 5 : What does it mean to be human. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/feb/27/thomas-aquinas-what-does-it-mean-to-be-
human
the things around us aside from humans. For Hume, Enriched with a deeper appreciation

of the source of beauty and goodness, understanding is transformed into love and our desire

pivots back towards objects in order to express this love. Love, knowledge and goodness are

inseparable.

6
As human being we possess a spirit animal, or totem, inside us. In economic view,

animal spirit is used by the British Economist, John Maynard Keynes, to explain how people

decide on their financial concern in terms of buying and selling in time of economic stress

or economic uncertainty. Keynes further discuss that animals spirit reflected to human

emotion as it affects the consumer confidence. However, the other explanation on the spirit

animals would only be explained through the connectivity of a human to a animals, for

instance a turtle is known for its characteristics of being shy with others and a slow

progressing animals relating it to human attributes maybe some of us was a person who is

shy towards other people to the point of hiding to not be recognized and a little progress is

still a improvement. Another one is a dog who’s very reliable in any task to allot in them, a

happy and a trustworthy animal in relating to human their would be someone that was like

a dogs whose very hard-working and dependable one.

7
One of the cornerstone ideas of the animal rights movement is that there are no

fundamental differences between humans and animals: humans are just animals, only more

intelligent (Ryder, 1991). Animals should have a right to life, a right to freedom and a right

not be used by humans. Moreover, the well-being of humans should not be put above the

well-being of animals (Singer, 1991). Abandonment of animals is a great inconsideration to

animals feeling, 8animals have a set of six basic emotions listed by Ekman: anger, fear,

disgust, joy, sadness and surprise.

6
Luna, A. (n.d.) The Origin of the Spirit Animals, Totem, and Power Animal (Lonerwolf.com). Retrieved from
https://lonerwolf.com/spirit-animal-origin/
7
Ryder R (1991) Speciecism. In: Animal Experimentation: The Moral Issues (Baird RM, Rosenbaum SE, eds), pp 24-
34. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.
8
Marvison, J. C. (2016 December 8). Not just Intellegence: why humans deserved to be treated better than animals.
Retrieved from https://speakingofresearch.com/2016/12/06/not-just-intelligence-why-humans-deserve-to-be-
treated-better-than-animals/
 9
The distinction between human cognition and animal cognition. The capacity of

human to project the future was already in them since they were born. The care and love

that an human can give to the animal is incomparable to the unconditional love and

happiness that an animal can give. 10Humans have developed an interdependent relationship

with many animal species—and dogs in particular (Hare and Tomasello 2005). It is because

dogs are dependable in taking care of the house and its security, dogs are also used in

investigation for searching apparels with suspected bombs, and also dogs serves as an eye

to the humans who have disability inseeing.

Animal or pets as part of the extended self because animals payed great role in our

society as we live and they survive for they somehow the one who make us life in this World.

Animals provide more than companionship to human, so the superiority that the society had

made to make the animals less acknowledgeable in this World than humans. Closely

attached to one's pets is seen to imply seeing animal as a part of self.

9
Bernstein, M. H. (2015). The Moral Equality of Humans and Animals. (pp 153). Palgrave Macmillan.
10
Amiot, C., Bastian, B., Martens, P. (May 4, 2016). People and Companion Animals: It Takes Two To Tango
(Article). Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/66/7/552/2463231
 Bibliography

Advance IPM. (n. d.) Thirteen Animal Superstitions. Retrieved from

Amiot, C., Bastian, B., Martens, P. (May 4, 2016). People and Companion Animals: It
Takes Two To Tango (Article). Retrieved from
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/66/7/552/2463231

Beattie, T. (February 27, 2012). Thomas Aquinas, part 5 : What does it mean to be
human. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/feb/27/thomas-aquinas-
what-does-it-mean-to-be-human

Bernstein, M. H. (2015). The Moral Equality of Humans and Animals. (pp 153). Palgrave
Macmillan.

Gazur B. (September 22, 2017). 10 Animals Worshipped as Holy. Retrieved from

Luna, A. (n.d.) The Origin of the Spirit Animals, Totem, and Power Animal
(Lonerwolf.com). Retrieved from https://lonerwolf.com/spirit-animal-origin/

Marvison, J. C. (2016 December 8). Not just Intellegence: why humans deserved to be
treated better than animals. Retrieved from
https://speakingofresearch.com/2016/12/06/not-just-intelligence-why-humans-
deserve-to-be-treated-better-than-animals/

Ryder R (1991) Speciecism. In: Animal Experimentation: The Moral Issues (Baird RM,
Rosenbaum SE, eds), pp 24-34. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.