Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-24

and elaborated mythology in which
| these poor limited creatures are hu.
mar ed and have thrust upon them
| responses, loyalties and sympathetic
understandings of which they are, in
reality. scarcely more capable than
plants.
The curious, materialistic, shame
ness and intelligent monkey lends
Itself far less easily than the dog to
such NEUROLOGICAL Interpretation and
SO gets far less confederation from
the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 1t pulls every
thing to pieces, including pleasant
fantasies about itself. But YOU can
tell a dog that it thinks and feels any
thing you like, however noble and
complex, and it watches you hopefully
anf ags its tail. And so it is about
the dog that the controversy centers
and the passions of the dispute rage
most obstinately.
To the uestion we have posed,
whether it is justif1able to inflict pain
upon animals if needed for the sake
or knowledge, the supporter of vivisec-
ton says Yes" He says Yes" be-
cause he regards the whole animal
creation as existing not merely for it's
present sensations, but as con-
tributing part of a. continuing and de-
veloping reality, which increases in
knowledge and power. His disposition
is to see things plainly and to accept
the subservience of beast to nan in
mans increasing effort to understand
and control. He regards animals as
limited and simplified cognat IS of our
own Infinitely more complex and i'm.
portant beings, Illuminating interiors,
and he can conceive no better or more
profitable use for their lives than to
serve the ends of mental growth.
What otherwise are their lives? A
play # desires and fears that ends in
being devoured by other creatures.
great or small.
To this mentality that of the nat
ural anti-vivisectionist is in the COM
pletest contrast. The world that the
pro.vivisectionist Is by his nature i'm.
PEELED to strip bare, the anti-vivisec-
zionist clothes in rich swathings of
feeling and self-protection. He i'm.
AGNES souls in birds and beasts, long
memories and intricate criticism. He
can imagine dogs and cats pressed by
forebodings, a prey to anxiety, vexed
and thwarted. He does not clearly
separate them from humanity. Often
he will compare these dream enriched
animals of his with mankind to the
disadvantage of the latter. He en-.
riches reality, but at the same time
he distorts and conceals it by these
ornamentations. He is afraid Of bare
reality as child Is afraid of a skele-
ton.
The biological experimenter expert.
ments because he wants to know. He
Is neither dismayed by pain nor does
he desire that pain should enter into
his experiments. He avoids it when
possible. / doubt il his work is large
ly determined by practical ends, nor
whether it would have much value
If he undertook it directly for the
sake Of curing disease, benef1ting hui
manity or anything of that sort. SEN
timental aims mean loose, sentimental,
Ineffective work He wants knowledge
because he wants knowledge; 1t is his
characteristic good. Practical appli-
cations follow unsought.
He is type Of humanity that may
or may not be increasing in the world.
Most of us do not stand up to knowl
edge like that. We want to keep our
illusions. We do not want knowledge
for ourselves or others very much:
we prefer to be happy in our magma
tons, and the rescue Of animals from
the clutches of the vivisectionists
appeals to our deep instructive self
protection quite as much as 1t does
to the widely diffused desire to cham
pion the weak against the strong.
(Copyright. 1927. by the New York Times
Co. Translation rights reserved.)