A skeptical method for young (and old) therians on identity
Oct 5, 2016 2:07:47 GMT
Post by Nøkken on Oct 5, 2016 2:07:47 GMT
At it's core, therianthropy is a feeling, a pervasive feeling of being nonhuman. But many individuals can become distracted by particulars, by false justifications, by social pressures, by familiarity, by wanting to belong to something as an outsider to civilization.
There is no need or reason to be a therian. One simply is. When a nonhuman animal species comprises a significant portion of one's identity, one is a therian. This is not entirely determined by oneself. It is something one cannot help but feel. It is definitely not a choice.
What I propose is a simple but difficult test for individuals to try on themselves concerning the question of whether they really are a therian or whether the theriotype they assume is theirs is their real theriotype.
The method:
Eliminate all possible justifications for feeling like you are another animal, and if you still feel like it, then it runs deep enough to comprise a portion of one's identity.
For every rational jusitification one has for being, let's say, a wolf, find a stronger argument for why that is a poor justification. For instance, if one says "I must be a wolf because X" (such as having an affinity for wolves or something of that sort), create a counterargument for why that is absolutely not a justification.
If the feeling lingers yet all reasons for feeling this way are unsound, then one can be certain it is real and unavoidable. A feeling one has not chosen or rationalized, but rather is built into one's emotions and identity regardless of what one thinks.
Maybe it is psychological, maybe spiritual. But it has survived the strictest critical opposition.
At the end of the day, therians do not know why they are therians. They only know that they are therians. And the only certain way to know if one is a therian is to be completely skeptical of all the reasons why one thinks one is a therian. At the end of that road, one will see if one's feelings survive the criticism. If they do, it is unavoidable, and therefore part of one's core identity.
There is no need or reason to be a therian. One simply is. When a nonhuman animal species comprises a significant portion of one's identity, one is a therian. This is not entirely determined by oneself. It is something one cannot help but feel. It is definitely not a choice.
What I propose is a simple but difficult test for individuals to try on themselves concerning the question of whether they really are a therian or whether the theriotype they assume is theirs is their real theriotype.
The method:
Eliminate all possible justifications for feeling like you are another animal, and if you still feel like it, then it runs deep enough to comprise a portion of one's identity.
For every rational jusitification one has for being, let's say, a wolf, find a stronger argument for why that is a poor justification. For instance, if one says "I must be a wolf because X" (such as having an affinity for wolves or something of that sort), create a counterargument for why that is absolutely not a justification.
If the feeling lingers yet all reasons for feeling this way are unsound, then one can be certain it is real and unavoidable. A feeling one has not chosen or rationalized, but rather is built into one's emotions and identity regardless of what one thinks.
Maybe it is psychological, maybe spiritual. But it has survived the strictest critical opposition.
At the end of the day, therians do not know why they are therians. They only know that they are therians. And the only certain way to know if one is a therian is to be completely skeptical of all the reasons why one thinks one is a therian. At the end of that road, one will see if one's feelings survive the criticism. If they do, it is unavoidable, and therefore part of one's core identity.
