Pets, humans, culture (issues of rationality, evolution, and communication)

The article discusses what domestic animals are, their linguistic and developmental differences from wild animals and humans. The author contemplated these questions while reflecting on the nature of artificial intelligence and was struck by a certain similarity between AI and domestic animals. The absence of "personal sovereignty" in domestic animals is examined: humans isolate them from the wild and its inhabitants, create a living environment for them (food, communication), and assume control and power prerogatives. To understand this, the author analyzes animal language, showing that they use signals, while a signal does not have the same meaning as a sign; it corresponds to a real situation for the animal, while the sign represents it. Usually, this situation is imagined, allowing for actions to resolve problems faced by humans (initially, communities, collectives of people). The evolution of humans and domestic animals is compared. Human evolution has followed the path of creating an artificial world (culture) through signs (language) and technology. Based on his research, the author argues that human life has been and continues to be based on "three whales" – semiotics (signs, schemes, symbols, etc.), culture, and technology. The evolution of domestic animals has taken place within two different contexts. The first, defined by the practice of artificial selection, has allowed domestic animals to become a special form of technology. The second evolutionary context is psychological, related to communication and the realization of personality. In the end, the article notes, on one hand, the involvement of domestic animals in two encompassing processes: evolution driven by artificial selection (phylogenetic plan) and the human-created environment that determines all their behavior (ontogenetic plan). On the other hand, there are three aspects of domestic animals. On one side, a domestic animal is an artifact of culture and humanity (the owner); on the other, it is living technology; and on the third side, it is our beloved pet, a part of our self with which we communicate and realize ourselves.