Susana Monsó’s research sheds light on the connections between human and animal responses to death, emphasizing the complex emotional experiences found in species such as orcas and ants.
Exploring Animal Grief: Insights from Orcas and Ants
Exploring Animal Grief: Insights from Orcas and Ants
A philosopher delves into how various animals process death and the implications for understanding their emotional lives.
In the summer of 2018, an emotional incident unfolded off Canada’s Pacific coast when an orca named Tahlequah gave birth, only to lose her calf just thirty minutes later. Rather than abandoning her offspring, Tahlequah displayed remarkable grief by carrying her calf's lifeless body for over two weeks, a behavior that captivated the public and sparked discussions about animal emotions.
Susana Monsó, a philosopher at the National Distance Education University in Madrid, draws parallels between Tahlequah's actions and human experiences of loss. “A mother clinging to the corpse of her baby for 17 days resonates with our own understandings of mourning,” she explained. This incident led Monsó to examine not only orcas but also various animals' perceptions of death in her new book, “Playing Possum.”
The notion of attributing human emotions to animals can be fraught with challenges, as scientists often caution against anthropomorphism—the practice of placing human characteristics onto non-human entities. Yet, Monsó argues that the dismissal of animal emotional life can also stem from an overestimation of human uniqueness. Evidence exists that numerous species may possess an elementary understanding of death, and her work seeks to highlight this.
In her conversation with The New York Times, Monsó elaborated on the broader implications of her research, advocating a deeper appreciation of the cognitive and emotional experiences of the animal kingdom. By examining cases like Tahlequah's, we gain insights into how grief manifests across species, challenging the boundaries we often place between human and animal expressions of loss.
Susana Monsó, a philosopher at the National Distance Education University in Madrid, draws parallels between Tahlequah's actions and human experiences of loss. “A mother clinging to the corpse of her baby for 17 days resonates with our own understandings of mourning,” she explained. This incident led Monsó to examine not only orcas but also various animals' perceptions of death in her new book, “Playing Possum.”
The notion of attributing human emotions to animals can be fraught with challenges, as scientists often caution against anthropomorphism—the practice of placing human characteristics onto non-human entities. Yet, Monsó argues that the dismissal of animal emotional life can also stem from an overestimation of human uniqueness. Evidence exists that numerous species may possess an elementary understanding of death, and her work seeks to highlight this.
In her conversation with The New York Times, Monsó elaborated on the broader implications of her research, advocating a deeper appreciation of the cognitive and emotional experiences of the animal kingdom. By examining cases like Tahlequah's, we gain insights into how grief manifests across species, challenging the boundaries we often place between human and animal expressions of loss.
