Should You Find Pleasure in Crushing The Skull of The Yard Mole?

Hate mail to Descartes

There seems to be a notion among those who consider biblical dominion to be an important role for humans to play, that this dominion aught include killing. The glorification of torturing and killing animals in needless ways is not only not biblical dominion, it is anti-biblical dominion. Take an example, there is a mole who digs up part of our yard and leaves behind a bunch of molehills. Biblical dominion would be to understand that the animal is doing what God made it to do, which is make holes. The end goal of proper dominion is to glorify God and improve the world he has given us. This would be achieved by, in this case, moving the mole to a field out back instead of your nicely mown lawn. This solution achieves proper order on both sides, the animal continues to do its God given job, and you can do yours. On the opposite side, discussing the torture of this mole and laughing about how brutally you would crush it into the pavement is not befitting of someone who claims to prioritize the glory of God. However I have made it sound, I think that this problem of dominion actually starts at a different root which is philosophy of mind. Within many Protestant circles Cartesian Dualism has been commonly accepted as the standard for how to think about the connection between the material and immaterial. I think that Descartes is wrong, but that is a different post. However, because of this proliferation of Descartes' view one important component of it has come alongside it- the rejection of the immaterial soul/spirit within animals. My understanding of how Descartes philosophy plays out in modern Christianity is that animals are now viewed as morally identical to plants. With no standard of importance for animal life, it then makes sense why dominion over animals has been distorted to be domineering in the likeness of a murderous tyrant. However, Descartes will not fall by the likes of me. My only hope is that those who think so little of the lives of animals would consider the metaphor used of our savior. Christ is the shepherd, He is not a shepherd with the goal of having sheep that He can eat or kill, but rather He loves His sheep. This is not a philosophical argument for the souls of animals, but it is a call to consideration of the tenderness which we are to give to created things- ensouled or automata. Don’t take pleasure in crushing the skull of the yard mole, but nor do you need to hug it, simply respect it. Respect the mole however insignificant as something created by God and acting within its created purpose. Perhaps shifting your thoughts of evil into tenderness towards insignificant things will cause you to be more tender to those things which are significant.