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Corinne's Reviews > The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
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Let me tell you how I got to this book.
You may already know the dictum of Jean Paul Sartre about animals as ‘animated things�, that is animals are moving things without emotions. This has revolted me always, but only recently I delved into this, subsequent to my encounter with a calf.
I have been observing this calf being licked tenderly by its mother cow, particularly on his head. This is a calf that always stays away from the rest of the calves. Then, after he came to see me over a number of days, once he approached me, while I was sitting down and observing.
I tried to reach out, but he moved back. So I withdrew my hand and touched my own head, the way his mother does on his head. The calf’s face relaxed. And, for an instant, his eyes brightened, and the skin around them crinkled as if he was smiling!!
This threw me off for a while. I searched on Amazon and found this book written by Darwin. A really informative book, with lots of comparison between animals and us.
You bet, my opinion on animals changed after that.
You may already know the dictum of Jean Paul Sartre about animals as ‘animated things�, that is animals are moving things without emotions. This has revolted me always, but only recently I delved into this, subsequent to my encounter with a calf.
I have been observing this calf being licked tenderly by its mother cow, particularly on his head. This is a calf that always stays away from the rest of the calves. Then, after he came to see me over a number of days, once he approached me, while I was sitting down and observing.
I tried to reach out, but he moved back. So I withdrew my hand and touched my own head, the way his mother does on his head. The calf’s face relaxed. And, for an instant, his eyes brightened, and the skin around them crinkled as if he was smiling!!
This threw me off for a while. I searched on Amazon and found this book written by Darwin. A really informative book, with lots of comparison between animals and us.
You bet, my opinion on animals changed after that.
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The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.
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Reading Progress
September 12, 2015
–
Started Reading
September 12, 2015
– Shelved
September 16, 2015
– Shelved as:
dignity
September 16, 2015
– Shelved as:
non-fiction
September 16, 2015
– Shelved as:
positive
September 16, 2015
–
Finished Reading
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Lynne
(last edited Sep 16, 2015 11:05AM)
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Sep 16, 2015 11:00AM
What a super review Corinne. I live in a rural village in the Pays Basque (this is not France, this is a different culture I'm sure!). We have quite a few farmers with sheep and cows. Well twice a day my French black labrador takes me for a walk (it is true and all the neighbours laugh at me as she drags me along the road). Consesequently I am faced with many cows and they look at me and come up to me and yes, they are indeed just like us. Then I heard a cow today howling - they had taken her calf off to the abbatoire. It really upset me!
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Hello Lynne ! I am glad you enjoyed the review and I can see that you are sensitive as well to the emotions in animals. I have taken this picture of a cow and its calf this summer in the Pyreenes mountains, and I have been observing this calf being licked tenderly by its mother cow. They expressed so many emotions in their loving interactions. As you say, they are like us.
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What a wonderful, sensitive review, Corinne! I am glad it came up in my feed. I am sure this must be a beautiful read, a peep into a species that is, in many ways, superior to humans.
Sarte's dictum shocked me. Animals sure show emotions - besides I read somewhere that dogs are capable of reading expressions on human faces.
Corinne wrote: "Hello Lynne ! I am glad you enjoyed the review and I can see that you are sensitive as well to the emotions in animals. I have taken this picture of a cow and its calf this summer in the Pyreenes..."
What an excellent photo Corinne and you were high up in the mountains! Where were you exactly?
Seemita wrote: "What a wonderful, sensitive review, Corinne! I am glad it came up in my feed. I am sure this must be a beautiful read, a peep into a species that is, in many ways, superior to humans."Thanks, Seemita ! I really appreciate your comment. The animals were living on earth well before us :)
I think that we have many things to learn from them..
Sidharth wrote: "Sarte's dictum shocked me. Animals sure show emotions - besides I read somewhere that dogs are capable of reading expressions on human faces."Sure, Sidharth, Animals have emotions. Humans have been living with dogs for centuries, so yes I am sure they can read expressions on our face and mainly through the pupils of our eyes. I don't know if you notice, the dogs always look straight into our eyes.
Lynne wrote: "Corinne wrote: "Hello Lynne ! I am glad you enjoyed the review and I can see that you are sensitive as well to the emotions in animals. I have taken this picture of a cow and its calf this summer..."
At Bonascre, near Ax les thermes. At 150 kilometre from Toulouse. Have you been there ?
Love this review, the photo, the entire thread. Thank you all for baring your sweet sensitivity! I so love animals & definitely believe that they have a lot to teach us. Dogs & other animals can also smell our pheromones/hormones that we secrete, so they can kind of tell how we feel from that, too. My most favorite thing in the world is communication and bonding between species. Just beautiful. Thanks for all of this!
What a wonderful review! Such humanity. It gives me the feeling that I must know you. Thank you.
