Re: Der Hund an sich (englisch)

verfasst von Bob, 24.12.2003, 14:35

-->Wie üblich aus der"Theory of the leisure class"

>>
The dog has advantages in the way of uselessness as well as in special gifts of
temperament. He is often spoken of, in an eminent sense, as the friend of man,
and his intelligence and fidelity are praised. The meaning of this is that the
dog is man's servant and that he has the gift of an unquestioning subservience
and a slave's quickness in guessing his master's mood. Coupled with these
traits, which fit him well for the relation of status - and which must for the
present purpose be set down as serviceable traits - the dog has some
characteristics which are of a more equivocal aesthetic value. He is the
filthiest of the domestic animals in his person and the nastiest in his habits.
For this he makes up is a servile, fawning attitude towards his master, and a
readiness to inflict damage and discomfort on all else. The dog, then, commends
himself to our favor by affording play to our propensity for mastery, and as he
is also an item of expense, and commonly serves no industrial purpose, he holds
a well-assured place in men's regard as a thing of good repute. The dog is at
the same time associated in our imagination with the chase - a meritorious
employment and an expression of the honorable predatory impulse. Standing on
this vantage ground, whatever beauty of form and motion and whatever commendable mental traits he may possess are conventionally acknowledged and magnified. And even those varieties of the dog which have been bred into grotesque deformity by the dog-fancier are in good faith accounted beautiful by many. These varieties of dogs - and the like is true of other fancy-bred animals - are rated and graded in aesthetic value somewhat in proportion to the degree of grotesqueness and instability of the particular fashion which the deformity takes in the given case. For the purpose in hand, this differential utility on the ground of grotesqueness and instability of structure is reducible to terms of a greater scarcity and consequent expense.

The commercial value of canine monstrosities, such as the prevailing styles of pet dogs both for men's and women's use, rests on their high cost of production, and their value to their owners lies chiefly in their utility as items of conspicuous consumption. In directly, through reflection upon their honorific expensiveness, a social worth is imputed to them; and so, by an easy substitution of words and ideas, they come to be admired and reputed beautiful. Since any attention bestowed upon these animals is in no sense gainful or useful, it is also reputable; and since the habit of giving them attention is consequently not deprecated, it may grow into an habitual attachment of great tenacity and of a most benevolent character. So that in the affection bestowed on pet animals the canon of expensiveness is present more or less remotely as a norm which guides and shapes the sentiment and the selection of its object. The like is true, as will be noticed presently, with respect to affection for persons also; although the manner in which the norm acts in that case is somewhat different.

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gesamter Thread:

• Für die Engländer ist Weihnachten gelaufen - Pharos ist tot! - Tofir, 24.12.2003, 12:46
  • Vielleicht trägt das dazu bei,der Kampfhundehaltung endlich ein Ende zu machen - spieler, 24.12.2003, 14:17
    • Re: Vielleicht trägt das dazu bei,der Kampfhundehaltung endlich ein Ende zu machen - Cujo, 24.12.2003, 14:28
      • Re: Vielleicht trägt das dazu bei,der Kampfhundehaltung endlich ein Ende zu machen - Cujo, 24.12.2003, 14:29
      • Das typische Argument der Kampfhunde-Lobby... schon klar... - spieler, 24.12.2003, 18:27
        • Re: Das typische Argument der Kampfhunde-Lobby... schon klar... - Cujo, 24.12.2003, 19:30
          • Re: Das typische Argument der Kampfhunde-Lobby... schon klar... - spieler, 24.12.2003, 23:51
    • Re: Der Hund an sich (englisch) - Bob, 24.12.2003, 14:35
    • Re: typisch deutsch, alles gleich verbieten.. - ottoasta, 24.12.2003, 14:58
      • Re: typisch deutsch, alles gleich verbieten.. - Cujo, 24.12.2003, 15:04
      • Hundehaltung zum Spass ist eine abartige Perversion des Menschen... mkT - igelei, 24.12.2003, 15:44
      • Typisch deutsch die Ãœberschrft:"typisch deutsch, alles gleich verbieten", - prinz_eisenherz, 24.12.2003, 16:54
        • Danke! Hast es weitaus eloquenter formuliert, als ich es könnte! owT - spieler, 24.12.2003, 17:31
          • Bitte schön, mußte wieder einmal gesagt werden, finde ich. (owT) - prinz_eisenherz, 24.12.2003, 22:37
    • Der wahre Grund der Debatte über sogenannte Kampfhunde ist - Tierfreund, 25.12.2003, 12:28
      • Re:"Der will doch nur spielen!" - Vlad Tepes, 25.12.2003, 13:02
        • Re:"Der will doch nur spielen!" - Cujo, 25.12.2003, 13:26
        • @Vlad: Versuch's mal mit Kruzifix, Knoblauch und Silberkugeln...:-) (owT) - Tierfreund, 25.12.2003, 15:25
          • Re: @Vlad: Versuch's mal mit Kruzifix, Knoblauch und Silberkugeln...:-) - Vlad Tepes, 25.12.2003, 15:34
      • warum nicht.... - oegeat, 25.12.2003, 13:50
        • Re: warum nicht.... - Tierfreund, 25.12.2003, 15:22
  • Re: Für die Engländer ist Weihnachten gelaufen - Pharos ist tot! - oegeat, 24.12.2003, 19:42
    • Sag ich doch... aber jetzt ist natürlich Schluß...:-) Böses Hundi! - spieler, 25.12.2003, 00:04
      • über Raucher Dicke und schlechte Schulbildung - oegeat, 25.12.2003, 13:40