ABSTRACT
It is a beautiful spring morning. My cat lounges on a stone bench in the sun after breakfast, stretching himself to his full extent with evident pleasure. This is an image of simply being alive, a moment when the experience of existing and the sensory pleasures of sun, air, full belly are enough. But if a large dog should come past, the cat would also defend his own ‘being’ and would shoot off the bench and hide, or, if cornered, would hiss and snarl with his fur up to frighten off the dog. Likewise, if pangs of hunger alert him to his need for more energy supplies, he would make sure to keep his ‘being’ going by pursuing a mouse or vole. He may not have self-consciousness or verbal communication, but he has a range of basic feelings and reactions which prompt his behaviour and ensure his survival.
