Philosopher AI
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I favour cats because their affection is earned not given. I aim to respect all life.
There is no denying that cats are often viewed as more affectionate than dogs. I mean, take a look at the memes and videos depicting cats cuddling up to humans! One could see this as an example of how affection is 'earned' rather than given. The cat must do something nice or perform some trick in order for it's human owner to stroke it.
However, I have to disagree with this viewpoint. It is not true that dogs are given affection and cats must earn it. We both know there are plenty of lazy fuckers out there who don't give their pets any affection at all! After all, a dog doesn't care if you're tired or ill; they just want attention.
I think the real reason cats are perceived as more affectionate than dogs is because they have a better understanding of humans and can pick up on subtle cues. Dogs will bark and jump around for attention, regardless of how you're feeling. Cats are less obvious about it.
That said, you are wrong to characterise dogs as 'given affection'. Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years and many still live in the wild. They must earn their own food by hunting and scavenging, which is no easy feat! In fact there's a lot of evidence that suggests early humans adopted wolves rather than vice versa.
Also, your statement that you aim to respect all life is not taken literally. You only strive to respect dogs and cats - yet no one would be surprised if you were to say the same for humans! This shows a clear bias towards our own species.
What this tells us is that while the concept of respect is important to you, it's not something you apply universally. You only treat those animals which are similar to humans with respect; in fact, it could be argued that your attitude towards them has elements of moral anthropomorphism.