I’m on page 38 of
The Philosopher’s Dog by Raimond Gaita. It’s an engaging read inasmuch as it’s a series of animal ‘stories’ or maybe, more accurately, animal ‘true-crime’ punctuated by thoughtful bits where Gaita reflects, questions, turns over assumptions he’s made about the animals he comes into contact with and asks not only why he makes assumptions but what’s been internalized by the culture in general. He also asks the reader to think about these questions.
I’m wondering how he does it.
I’ve already referred to the introduction and his suggested method for reading the ‘philosophical bits’. I think the title contributes because we know that the focus will be on the relationship between a philosopher and his dog and that philosophers tend to be ‘thinky’ people. We expect the book to be philosophical. Gaita also asks a lot of questions in the book (at least up to page 38) and he begins to answer the questions…for himself. For example, in one paragraph on page 36 there are four questions related to the issue of animal euthanasia as Gaita faces a decision about it:
Was I wrong to intend to kill Tosca that way?
Should I extend to all animals the kind of compassion I would extend to Gypsy, respectful of their dignity in a way that is not consistent with "putting them out of their misery"?
Am I wrong even to ask that question?
Should the answer not be obvious now?
There’s always a lingering sense that these questions are relevant for us too. It’s tonal and moral. It puts the pressure on. Gaita, it seems, wants to engage in a dialogue with us but he can’t hear what we say in response. It’s productive in the sense that we may discuss his questions with others. But that hasn’t happened to me yet.
I’ve been travelling over the last few days. I went to the hotel pool/hot tub/gym area. I brought
The Philosopher’s Dog with me. I met a group of hockey players from Minnesota at the pool and several of them asked me what I was reading. I could tell that they were put-off the title but that they were okay with the idea that the book was about dogs & animal stories. They asked me if the book “was any good”. I said “it’s okay”. I didn’t feel that I could give it an enthusiastic and unequivocal endorsement.
Now, that it’s been said, I’m feeling at one level that I don’t want to finish the book. I wonder if that’s to do with laziness and not wanting to bother to answer Gaita's questions…or feeling pressured…or just that it’s true, that the book is just “okay”.
