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Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
Yes, this is a very good point. I'm not sure how this happened though. How have our brains been re-wired in this fashion?
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On our expanding circle of empathy, I recommend Steven Pinker's
Better Angels of Our Nature. The rationalism fostered during the Enlightenment planted the seeds. Widespread literacy, and the way it encourages us to step out of our own POV, has been important. There's also a strong Anglo tradition of personifying and romanticizing animals in children stories. The rights revolution of the 60s and 70s increased the momentum for animal rights. And as rubecube suggests, the common practice in the West of keeping animals purely as social companions no doubt played a part.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
I wonder if the anthropomorphic treatment that animals get in western popular culture has something to do with it. We all grew up with talking animals in movies and on TV and in books.
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It absolutely does. It started in Britain with the Victorians. Beatrice the Rabbit, Wind in the Willows, Winny the Pooh, etc. You didn't see that stuff in the rest of the Europe, let alone China. At least not in the sentimental way it's shown in our culture. I once heard a Benneton executive comment in a documentary about advertising that the surest way to an Italian's heart is through food, the way to a Frenchman's heart is through lust, and way to an Englishman's heart is through a cute, furry animal.