Are Animals “It”? Restoring Animals in our Language

This essay examines how language marginalizes animals by reducing them to “it”—a grammar convention that obscures the giftedness of animals (i.e., cognition, agency, communication, empathy). In this linguistic marginalization, there are metaphors and colloquial words that simultaneously violate women and animals. It is argued that the linguistic marginalization of animals is reinforced by anthropocentric philosophical and theological traditions. Thomistic philosophical and theological thought has influenced our view of animals, favoring human superiority. Despite Thomas Aquinas’ shortcomings in his appraisal of animals, his affirmative teachings on animals can be retrieved. Animals, for him, are participants in God’s community of creation who reveal God’s goodness and glory. Moreover, this essay aims to uncover the greatness of animals by acknowledging their capacities through the lens of animal reciprocity. While it is critical to redress false claims about animals, this essay eschews reproducing anthropocentric practices by simply valuing animals using human standards. Thus, feminist animal care, particularly entangled empathy, will be explored as an ethic of care that is affirmative of the value of animals based on their wholeness and uniqueness. Naming is proposed as a counter-cultural practice against demeaning descriptions for animals in our language.