I feel permitted to barge in on this discussion, since my dog (well, our
dog) is also named Dusty.
Frequently, I look up from what I’m doing or reading, and he is in his
chair looking at me, and we can spend several minutes with our eyes
locked. I call it love; he doesn’t want to talk about it. I’ve read
that this is common behavior, and that it results in an oxytocin kick to
both participants. I think that chemical evidence is a good addition to
the other data in this discussion. My starting assumption is that if a
peptide is shared between species, the effects of that peptide probably
share similar mechanisms. I.e., the simplest explanation is that if it
affects me through emotions, the effect in my dog is probably through
something very much like an emotion. I’ve never seen any evidence that
this is *not* true.
Concerning the list of consequences of a loving relationship at the end
of your message, I would say all three are absolutely true. My wife had
covid for the first time several months ago, and whenever she was in
bed, both our dogs were there. When they see we are upset — a frequent
occurrence in this election year — they will keep their eyes on us and
stick with us until they are reassured that we are (sorta) OK. They
sense emotions better than many humans I have known.
When Dusty was a puppy, and I was out of town, my wife took him on a
walk, off leash, in the arroyo and slipped and fell on the icy path.
When she opened her eyes a few seconds later, Dusty had his nose right
up against her face.
--
On 12 Jul 2024, at 12:59, Nicholas Thompson wrote:
[Please, Friammers,, if you join this discussion, stay close to this
or
other closely related down-to-earth experiences.
Dave, you offer as data:
*Dave is sleepy and calm.*
*Dusty is anxious and afraid.*
*Dusty crawls onto Dave's shoulder and finds reassurance and
security.*
*Dave is tolerant and does not shove Dusty off bed.*
*Dave senses Dusty's need for reassurance and rests his arm across her
back
and lets her stay as she is.*
*Dusty relaxes and goes to sleep.*
You then offer the following guide to interpretation:
*Love is not present in this transaction, unless you presume that a
series
of prior interactions created a kind of meta-state of Lovingness
between
the two *
I agree with you that love is a meta state in the sense that it is an
arrangement of other behavioral states. So I will leave that alone.
Having so stipulated, I think it is reasonable to say, on the basis of
the
data you set forth, that a meta-state of lovingness exists between
you.
(I would prefer to say you love one another, but partly in deference
to SG,
I will adopt your lingo.] To call your joint behavior loving is to
perform
an abduction. The test of an abduction is to examine the deductions
that
flow from it:
So, if Dave and Dusty have a loving relationship, then, on my
understanding, the following would be true:
*You would protect one another against harm.*
*You would attend to one another if either was sick, injured, or
depressed.*
*You would become uneasy if you were separated for an unexpectedly
long
time.*
Are these things true?
Nick
-. --- - / ...- .- .-.. .. -.. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. .
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom
https://bit.ly/virtualfriam
to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/
archives: 5/2017 thru present
https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/
1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/
-. --- - / ...- .- .-.. .. -.. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. .
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom
https://bit.ly/virtualfriam
to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/
archives: 5/2017 thru present https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/
1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/
