Animals as Friends 🐶🐱🐵🐺🐷🐮

Whether or not animals qualify as friends, particularly companion animals, depends on how friendship and animals are viewed. It is easier to integrate animals in some friendship stories than others, aside from human friendships. I address some common criticisms of this characterization and provide a case for the idea that some relationships between animals and humans can be best described as friendships. As treating animals badly would not be consistent with treating someone as a friend, it would seem that, under any understanding of friendship, treating animals as (possible) friends would lead to improved treatment of animals. However, caring for animals (or specific animals) in need goes much beyond simply thinking about our own housemates. It is a concern for animals in general.

1. Overview

For certain individuals, it is evident that a friendship with an animal has all the qualities and requirements of friendship. When examining real partnerships, it is difficult to argue against the notion that, for some humans, either temporarily or permanently, their bond to a non-human companion is the (equal) strongest connection in their lives (for powerful fictional instances, see Auster 1999; Hornung 2010).

However, others would find it depressing if a person's best friend is actually their dog, cat, or horse. They would believe that a human-animal bond is somehow weaker or inferior to the relationships that humans may be able to form.

Regarding animals as friends, opinions are divided.

I concentrate on companion animals, which are commonly referred to as pets, since they appear to be the most deserving of the title of companions. One area of human-animal connection that is not isolated from other areas is companionship, often known as pet-human cohabitation. A pet could participate in a clinical study or a

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46 artistic creations. On a farm, an animal may live as a pet for a while before becoming food or a commodity. An assistance dog may then retire to live as a pet. As Tony Milligan points out, having a pet encompasses much more than just owning a live animal that was bought from,

Animal-human friendship has received some philosophical study, but there is also little agreement in this area. Recent examples include the following: Donna Haraway's extensive work on the overlap or mutual coconstruction of human and non-human lives, including a rich exploration of shared activities like dog agility work; Jeff Jordan's argument for vegetarianism based on the unacceptability of eating potential friends; and Silke Shicktanz's discussion of a range of humananimal relationships, including friendship, patronage, and partnership models (Schicktanz 2006).

Although Milligan has explored animals and end-of-life decisions in ways that highlight the complexity of the bonds that exist between people and animals, she refuses to refer to these interactions as "friendships" (Milligan 2009).

There is a chance to comprehend animals, including humans, by considering the friendships between animals and humans. Human and animal bonds are fascinating as relationships involving compassion and/or intimate, sympathetic attention, even though they are not friendships. Because of the level of careful attention required, these may reveal ethically significant aspects of the individuals. Interaction with animals can teach us about what it means to be human. In the words of Freya Matthews:

Engaging in emotional interactions with beings that do not share our values or human aspirations allows us to see those ideals from an outsider's point of view. It helps us understand how non-human onlookers can perceive our human priorities as strange or arbitrary (Mathews 2007, 16).

2. Talking about Animals

Regarding how to refer to domestic animals, the terms "pet" and "owner" are more contentious than whether or not to call my dog my "friend." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, has, for instance, fought against the institution of pet ownership, pointing out that it frequently falls short of meeting even minimally acceptable criteria of wellbeing and compassion. Some contend that "guardianship," which more accurately conveys the pertinent duties, should be used in place of "ownership" (Hankin, 2009). Certain legal systems use terminology specific to animal companions; for example, some veterinarians refer to "guardians" instead of "pets and owners" or, as my 48-year-old local veterinarian does, "pets and their people," which cleverly challenges the idea of ownership. These categories' suitability for friendship is

3. Objections to Animal-Human Friendship

The subject of animal-human friendship is not so much about the terms "friend," "pet," or "guardian," but rather how these terms intersect with the various connections that certain human beings have with certain animal species. Three main arguments are made against allowing animals to fully participate in human friendships: first, that there is an excessive power imbalance; second, that friendship requires more cognitive capacity than an animal can handle; and third, that animals are not moral agents in the necessary sense (possibly due to a lack of relevant cognitive abilities).

4. Animals can be Friends, but the Moral Implications

are Limited

These observations demonstrate that there is a good reason to believe that some animals and humans could be friends, even though there are some significant criticisms of this portrayal that can be addressed.

Sometimes, who our buddies or companions can be is determined by our environment, our good fortune, or our opportunities. Additionally, I believe that people differ from one another. For example, whereas some people find that their potential for friendship is best exhibited in relationships with non-humans, mine is best expressed with other people. If so, what makes you think that friendships between humans and non-humans are philosophically interesting rather than merely a subject of acrimonious debate or the diversity of humans and non-humans?

One way to look at interspecies relationships is to examine the reasoning behind why animals can or cannot be friends, as demonstrated by the conversation.

References

References Auster, Paul. 1999. Timbuktu New York: Picador. Bekoff, Marc and Jessica Pierce. 2009. Wild justice: The moral lives of animals. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

Cocking, Dean and Jeanette Kennett. 2000. Friendship and moral danger. The Journal of Philosophy 97 (5): 278-296.

Everett, Jennifer. 2001. Environmental ethics, animal welfarism, and the problem of predation: A Bambi lover's respect for nature.

Ethics & the Environment 6 (1): 42-67.

Ferguson, Kieran. 2004. I [heart] my dog. Political Theory 32 (3): 373-395.

Goering, Sara. 2003. Choosing our friends: Moral partiality and the value of Diversity. Journal of Social Philosophy 34 (3): 400- 413.

Hamington, Maurice. 2008. Learning ethics from our relationships with animals: Moral imagination. International Journal of

Applied Philosophy 22 (2): 177-188.

Hankin, Susan J. 2009. Making decisions about our animals’ health care: Does it matter whether we are owners or guardians.