Compassion, Animism, and Dressing Up Pets

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What does compassion have to do with our worldview? As it turns out, a lot. Whether you’re dressing up your dog in a Santa hat, filming clips of your cat doing “cute human things,” or attributing emotions and thoughts to your pet or houseplant, this type of anthropomorphism is a marker of both identification with the other and an ability to be compassionate with the other.

Animism, which is the belief that every natural thing around us, such as animals, plants, mountains, rivers, and the wind have spirits and are thus “alive,” is one of the oldest human belief systems. Animism has long governed how we interact with the environment. Traditional cultures who have not lost their belief systems often present aspects of animism, such as Maori who espouse a kinship relationship with sweet potatoes because they believe that both they and the sweet potato arrived in the same canoe to Aotearoa.  Even modern developed cultures such as Japan, Thailand, and South Korea still have beliefs about “spirits of the land” which they honor with Spirit Houses.  North America’s First Nations often have deep spiritual relationships and practices that centre around the spirit of place and animals, honoring nature and their connectedness with nature. The Jains also take these relationships very seriously and try to limit their impact on other living beings as much as possible.

But what does this have to do with the modern practice of getting your cat to sit still in a bow tie and pipe cleaner glasses for an Instagram shoot? Psychologically, everything. Studies have shown that the idea of anthropomorphism, or giving non-human beings and objects human characteristics, is integral in compassion and understanding among people and animals. By extending these human characteristics to the animals and the world around us, it helps people psychologically connect with the ‘other’ and understand that we are not so different. This understanding helps to control fear of the other and promote peace, tolerance, and understanding in the world.

So, get that Santa Hat ready for your pug this Christmas, and help make the world a better, more compassionate place, one cute pic at a time.

Do you like to dress up your pets?  Share some of your favourite photos with me on Facebook.