"Aesop, Aristotle, and Animals: The Role of Fables in Human Life"

After reading “Aesop, Aristotle, and Animals: The Role of Fables in Human Life” by Edward Clayton, I understood the true meaning behind fables and what they represent. Clayton examined and thoroughly thought about fables and argued that they have so much more meaning than what they portray at first. He believes that fables represent and spread the ideas of equality and justice among humans, rather than just being providing pure entertainment. He addressed that animals are the main subjects of these fables because of the Athenians who believed in a strong connection between animal behavior and human behavior, how humans can be considered animals in some aspect, and how both connect to the “natural world.” What I really liked about Clayton’s text was the first key connection he made between human beings and the animal world. He stated that humans shouldn’t view animals as “tamed” or “wild” because we as human beings are “tamed” as well. Clayton said “Aristotle says that ‘in children though one can see as it were traces and seeds of the dispositions that they will later, yet their soul at this period has practically no difference from that of wild animals.’” I found this to be so interesting due to the fact that humans can become wild and chaotic without the proper care as babies and children. It is up to parents and the education system to raise them into civilized people. Babies and children start off just as wild as animals do and that shows that we aren’t so different from them. Animals can be tamed just like humans are. Although this point that Clayton made intrigued me, I didn’t like that he made a connection between these fables to politics. After reading this text, I viewed fables as having a connection to human morals, society values, justice, etc. But I don’t really see how a connection to politics would make as much sense. However, the overall argument on the strength of fables changed my mind set on how I perceive them now. Edward Clayton changed my views on fables in the sense that now, I believe they are so much more powerful and contain a lot more meaning to them, than the couple of lines and the different animals named that you see at first.