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2.26.2006

Ownership

At what point in animal intelligence does a sense of ownership arise? Surely its basis lies in the collection of instincts we attribute to survival, but there is a difference between having a momentary hold on an object or territory for primary needs and a sense of ownership. It would be easy to flippantly claim that humans alone have this more advanced emotion, but anyone who's owned a pet knows that this is not true. My dog, for instance, knows the difference between what she considers to be her own things and the rest of the objects in our home. Keep in mind that none of her belongings play a role in her survival, nor would they if she were out of our care. So, if both humans and dogs have a sense of ownership, where does this emotional capacity terminate as we descend down the hierarchy of intelligent life on this planet? I can't claim to have a clue, but I often ask this same question about a number of emotions I think I've recognized to have in common with other animals.

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