Sorry to be trouble, because I agree with you, but what if some emotions are catlike instead of doglike?
It's a thought. Perhaps people with inferiority problems are dogs, and arrogant people are cats. But you can't train cats, so that would mean arrogance is uncorrectable. And you can make a story about a person learning humility. So all in all, I'd say no, people aren't like cats.
Very good and interesting article, Lars. I used to date a dog groomer/trainer. We had similar discussions as per your "thesis".
We also believed dogs were/are like people...not only our emotions... can emotions not make the people who they are?
Ah... BTW.. she also trained cats... Cats in her hands were putty.... TV and movie cats become "stars" not just because they are cute or lovable like dogs.... They must be trained to be lovable stars...
This reminds me why I like 19th century literature. The stories moved a bit slower and were more focused on character development than on action. Authors like Charles Dickens understood human nature better than modern authors. While they may not have believed in Christ, they still had more of a Biblical worldview than we see in even most modern Christian writers.
Politically correct humanism sees man as basically good. He does wrong because of bad training or circumstances. The 19th century writers recognized the depravity of man's fallen nature. They knew that totally evil people existed. Even those who appear to be good have to struggle to overcome their dark side. Today's anti-hero flies in the face of that. He's doing wrong to ultimately accomplish good rather than doing good to overcome the inherent bent towards evil we all share since Adam's fall into sin.
That dog tugs at my heartstrings. Maybe if I rubbed his ears he'd feel better.
Excellent post on so many levels. I'll have to read it again next time I'm plotting a novel, to unleash my characters' Inner Dogs. (Seriously.)
Along these lines I watched a documentary not too long ago about Temple Grandin. (BBC; The woman who thinks like a cow) She claims that she experiences the world much like an animal does. I think in her case she's thinking in terms of evolutionary heritage, etc. I rather see the animal connection more in terms of metaphor; as we do, to a certain extent at least, get 'trained' by the way we were brought up.
- if you like offbeat documentaries, this is an interesting one, and well done. (Great visuals and music.)