Researcher(s):
Karli Uwaine
ENVS course(s): 295 Initiated: January 2018 Completed: April 2018 Go to project site
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The motivation behind this project stemmed from my passion for animals. I wanted to understand and evaluate the role or impact that aesthetic value plays and has on the way humans feel towards certain species. I held discussion groups and interviews with Lewis & Clark Undergrad students and asked them, if they were in a situation where they saw a snake and a dog in trouble and could only save one, which one would they save and why? From the responses that I heard, I found that humans don’t place more value on certain animals just because of an animal’s physical appearance. There are so many more forms of beauty and aesthetic values that people take into consideration when it comes to animals. These include the fitness/form of an animal, the closeness to a human an animal is (being able to have relationships with them), the amount of experience/interactions with an animal, and having dominance over this animal.