The oldest dispute of all time: Dogs or Cats?

Ernst Junger was a German philosopher who participated in both the world wars. He wrote on many serious themes but in this memo, we breakdown his lighthearted essay Dog and Cat. Junger digs into their differences, why cats and dogs accompany different types of people, and more👇

Junger acknowledges that there's no objective answer here, and delves into each animal's unique features. The cat is certainly the nobler of the two: it prizes its "freedom, independence and dignity." It doesn't do anything "unless it thinks that endeavor pleasant."

The cat suits contemplative people with an "artistic temperament." The cat does not know service or devotion like the dog - indeed, these are "foreign" to the cat's nature.

The dog, on the other hand, is the "companion of the active, vigilant man, especially of the hunter and the shepherd." Cats accompany the people who look inward; dogs the people who look outward.

Junger says we've lost the ability to see the spiritual essence of the world, and by extension the spiritual essence of animals. Animals are not similarly handicapped by our scientific skepticism - they can understand the mystical bedrock of the world  "a lot better" than us.

Junger writes about Dogs: "The dog took part in the journeys of man. We find him with the natives of the tropics as with the Eskimos. Already his wild forms hunt sociably and over long distances."

The dog joins us on the hunt, and he's a companion at the "campfire." The cat prefers comfort, and joins us at "the hearth."

Junger writes: "The dog hunts by day, the cat by night." The dog hunts in packs while the cat has a more solitary style.

Junger on why cats seek out those who are lonely, or who wish to be alone: "The cat belongs to the other side of man - there, where he comfortably enjoys leisure, where he pursues ideas, writes poetry and dreams."

Bottom line. Our understanding of our furry companions doesn't necessarily increase with time. Junger writes: "Never did we know more about their anatomy and their behavior. Never did we know less about their holy being." Here, he shines light on precisely their holy being.