Within the third set of quotes between Abram and Siebert the concept of taking the mindset of another creature is brought up. Abram draws a line between humans and others. He talks about familiarity and intimacy with the animal mindset to imply that we can never fully connect to others because there is no possible way to understand the complexities of our own minds let alone another’s. This thought of differences is specifically shown with the capitalization of “O” in Others. By ‘others’ Abram means other creatures. He has made them their own proper noun, completely separate from humans. Siebert creates a comparison between humans and elephants and asks us to step into their shoes, and in effect think like they do. This idea is the exact opposite of what Abram is telling us is not possible.
By Abram capitalizing others he is showing shows a sign of respect towards animals, which shows that there is a complex nature to animals that are not “fathomable”. This makes it seem like there is something mysterious and majestic that humans are missing in the big picture. This is also what Siebert is saying towards elephants. Obviously people cannot be elephants, but if we put ourselves in their mindset, we may take on a different view of how the world works and how people and animals need to interact. This key allows us to understand more of how the world coexists as a single unit between the natural and modernized worlds.
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