As a child, I used to spend a lot of time with insects. I wanted to understand how they understand the world. I have thought about death and how other animals may perceive it. In the recent years, with a lot of machine comprehension, I find myself asking these questions again. And I spend a lot more time with animals now, so that aids in the process.
In a way a deeper question I have is do we humans actually "understand" death in similar ways? I personally do not think so and it arises from how much or little I have seen people spend time pondering on these topics. With some, I can discuss hypotheticals easily and with others I just can not. They do not admire these subjects and I wonder if our brains just perceive some of these things differently. Time is another such topic.
I should add that we do not need to agree on what is "death" in order to grieve the missing. But I guess how would cats know death vs missing (vacation)?
In a way a deeper question I have is do we humans actually "understand" death in similar ways? I personally do not think so and it arises from how much or little I have seen people spend time pondering on these topics. With some, I can discuss hypotheticals easily and with others I just can not. They do not admire these subjects and I wonder if our brains just perceive some of these things differently. Time is another such topic.
I should add that we do not need to agree on what is "death" in order to grieve the missing. But I guess how would cats know death vs missing (vacation)?