There has been quite a bit of discussion lately over the argument about "intelligent design", and this has reminded me of an instructor I had while I was going through Nursing School. He taught Anatomy and Physiology, and did it well. He made the class fun, did this trick of tossing the chalk from behind his back over his shoulder and catching it in front at waist level. Did it forty or so times during the course of a lecture, seemingly, without even thinking about it. We laughed out loud several times during the course of the lecture, and on every exam, at the end was a nonsense question that had no right answer, so it never counted against you.
I don't remember what brought the subject up, but he was discussing animals and whether they had emotions or not. His contention was that they did not, that every thing animals did was either survival instinct, or learned response as in "Pavlov's dogs". He discussed examples of his own dog's behavior, so we knew his opinion wasn't from an animal hater's point of view, and he had a ready answer (ready, not satisfactory, to many of us) for every question that came his way in attempts to cast doubt on this belief.
There are many people who feel the same way he does in varying degrees. I read many articles from vets, animals behaviorists, etc, that say animals, especially dogs, have no concept of time. Oh yeah? Then why does my dog stand at the front door every day, with her nose to the wood, as if she has x-ray vision, starting at about 5pm? She will stand there for an hour or so before she gives up the staring through the door routine, but it is replaced by nearby vigilance, until her Daddy gets home from work. A dog we had as a child would wake my Dad up if he overslept in the morning, which was a very rare occurance and usually involved a power outage which would mean that no alarm clock went off, to alert the dog that it was "time".
If you have animals, you know that they have to go with you to save you from the bathroom monster. It's the law. They will have to answer to the head beagle if they don't. Even cats, and answering to the head beagle is MUCH worse for them! Our dog would frequently jump up into the tub while I was still busy, and lap up the water around the drain. Not as disgusting as drinking out of the toilet, but if you have taken Microbiology in your lifetime, and know what we know, disgusting enough! One day, she was, for some unknown doggy reason, lagging behind. Our black cat came into the bathroom before she arrived, and jumped into the tub and hunkered down. This was a rare enough occurance that I just sat and watched to see what he was up to. The dog came in, and as soon as she was sure I was safe, put her paws on the side of the tub, preparing to jump in. POPPOP!! A left and a right to each side of her face, before she knew what hit her, and off like a streak, the cat escaped before she could retaliate! It was a good thing I was already on the pot, I would have peed my pants laughing otherwise. My dog just looked at me with a confused expression, like "What Happened?". To her credit, she didn't leave her post to get revenge, at least not right at that moment. Now, this was premeditated....how LONG had the cat been planning this, just waiting for the right moment, the few minutes that the dog was distracted by something else so he could get in the bathroom before she did, without her seeing him do it? This is an in-out cat too. It's not like he hangs around the house all day, with nothing else to do.
This happened long after I had graduated, but not before this professor had quit teaching. It wasn't important enough to bring to him to evaluate, as I had decided he was somebody I wouldn't want to have a debate with on any subject. He was suspected of abusing various substances, especially in his last few years teaching, had taken "sabbaticals" on a couple of occasions, that most of the students assumed were stints in rehab. He had been a bit of a hound dog always, he liked the sweet young things in his classes, and liked to party with the "in" group of students who were in his class at the time. He had also let it be known that he was an athiest, was proud of it, to the point of writing editorials in the paper on the subject to enlighten believers of their folly.
Within the last year, word got around very quickly, since many of us in the health field had taken his classes, that he had arrived at one of our satellite hospital's ER and had died there of a massive heart attack at the age of 62 or so. When I heard, it occurred to me that NOW he knew the answers to things we disagreed about, he NOW knew the truth, and I said out loud, with a snicker "What do you think now (insert name)?" I quit snickering when I suddenly realized the implication of his knowing the truth.
I don't remember what brought the subject up, but he was discussing animals and whether they had emotions or not. His contention was that they did not, that every thing animals did was either survival instinct, or learned response as in "Pavlov's dogs". He discussed examples of his own dog's behavior, so we knew his opinion wasn't from an animal hater's point of view, and he had a ready answer (ready, not satisfactory, to many of us) for every question that came his way in attempts to cast doubt on this belief.
There are many people who feel the same way he does in varying degrees. I read many articles from vets, animals behaviorists, etc, that say animals, especially dogs, have no concept of time. Oh yeah? Then why does my dog stand at the front door every day, with her nose to the wood, as if she has x-ray vision, starting at about 5pm? She will stand there for an hour or so before she gives up the staring through the door routine, but it is replaced by nearby vigilance, until her Daddy gets home from work. A dog we had as a child would wake my Dad up if he overslept in the morning, which was a very rare occurance and usually involved a power outage which would mean that no alarm clock went off, to alert the dog that it was "time".
If you have animals, you know that they have to go with you to save you from the bathroom monster. It's the law. They will have to answer to the head beagle if they don't. Even cats, and answering to the head beagle is MUCH worse for them! Our dog would frequently jump up into the tub while I was still busy, and lap up the water around the drain. Not as disgusting as drinking out of the toilet, but if you have taken Microbiology in your lifetime, and know what we know, disgusting enough! One day, she was, for some unknown doggy reason, lagging behind. Our black cat came into the bathroom before she arrived, and jumped into the tub and hunkered down. This was a rare enough occurance that I just sat and watched to see what he was up to. The dog came in, and as soon as she was sure I was safe, put her paws on the side of the tub, preparing to jump in. POPPOP!! A left and a right to each side of her face, before she knew what hit her, and off like a streak, the cat escaped before she could retaliate! It was a good thing I was already on the pot, I would have peed my pants laughing otherwise. My dog just looked at me with a confused expression, like "What Happened?". To her credit, she didn't leave her post to get revenge, at least not right at that moment. Now, this was premeditated....how LONG had the cat been planning this, just waiting for the right moment, the few minutes that the dog was distracted by something else so he could get in the bathroom before she did, without her seeing him do it? This is an in-out cat too. It's not like he hangs around the house all day, with nothing else to do.
This happened long after I had graduated, but not before this professor had quit teaching. It wasn't important enough to bring to him to evaluate, as I had decided he was somebody I wouldn't want to have a debate with on any subject. He was suspected of abusing various substances, especially in his last few years teaching, had taken "sabbaticals" on a couple of occasions, that most of the students assumed were stints in rehab. He had been a bit of a hound dog always, he liked the sweet young things in his classes, and liked to party with the "in" group of students who were in his class at the time. He had also let it be known that he was an athiest, was proud of it, to the point of writing editorials in the paper on the subject to enlighten believers of their folly.
Within the last year, word got around very quickly, since many of us in the health field had taken his classes, that he had arrived at one of our satellite hospital's ER and had died there of a massive heart attack at the age of 62 or so. When I heard, it occurred to me that NOW he knew the answers to things we disagreed about, he NOW knew the truth, and I said out loud, with a snicker "What do you think now (insert name)?" I quit snickering when I suddenly realized the implication of his knowing the truth.
posted by Mommanurse at 5:06 AM
3 Comments:
It's hard to think of someone who knew so much about anatomy and physiology could be so sure that God does not exist. For me, the beauty and genius of our design makes it clear that only God could have made us. I wonder how he missed that part?
And as for animals having feelings and emotions,,, well, I guess his position that they only do what they do for self-preservation and to ensure the continuance of the species could be made for human beings as well.
For me, there is no doubt that animals feel just like we do although they may not be able to express those feelings like we do. Too, they don't have the luxury of maintaining those emotions for very long,,, they have to get back to the business of finding their next meal. We can only take time to celebrate or grieve or be depressed if the basic needs are secure.
Heaven would be such a sad place without animals, and we would be such silly pieces of protoplasm without a Power greater than ourselves.
I'm sure your professor was relieved to find out he had been wrong all along
I hope he was relieved. That would mean God has compassion for very smart idiots. Otherwise, his next thought was, "It really IS very hot here!"!!
By the way, I liked your first reply to Greybeard's "Are we paying attention?"
Cathie, This is your cousin Becky. I am still at work but taking a "Christmas Break." Anyway, I remember Grandma Schrieber's Chihuahuas. Every time Grandma or Grandpa took a drive the dogs would be waiting to join them, but not on Sunday. They knew they could not go to church. Well, logically they probably remembered that when Grandma & Grandpa smelled like soap, perfume and moth balls, they were not invited. I also remember Grandma taking a rolled up newspaper, hitting it against the side of the couch and saying,"Go to bed." Whereapon the dogs would line up oldest to youngest and march down the basement stairs to their beds!
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