The other may be perceived as one that does not belong. They tend to have characteristics that are different from yours, that cause one to classify them as a stranger. In society, the other may gravitate towards being less intelligent; their knowledge is always being questioned. Many times, animals are recognized as the other because of the differences they endure compared to humans. From a human 's perspective, the other is vulnerable, but, from the other perspective, we do not know if we are viewed as vulnerable. There is an unequal relationship between humans and animals (the other). From Jonathan Crowes outlook in his essay “Levinasian Ethics and Animal Rights,” it is impossible to know the other since we do not understand their knowledge and thoughts. In the movie Grizzly Man, Timothy Treadwell tries to break the boundary between himself and the bears (the others). Treadwell exceeds the limits in a quest to form a relationship with the bears. From Crowe’s take, being too familiar with the other is an ethical burden. It is inhumane to treat an animal as if they are human as Treadwell did. Treadwell omitting the value of …show more content…
The binary of self and other allows for the recognition of a self. Being able to acknowledge the difference between yourself and the other, and that you are both separate, informs you, that you are not the other, therefore you are your own being. Timothy Treadwell in Grizzly Man, disregards this theory that one has to concede that difference between self and other. Due to this, there was a constant blur between his own identity and the bears. Timothy believed he was a bear, and because of this, he treated the bears as if he would treat other humans. As the pilot said in the movie, he treated the bears as if they were “people in bear suits” (Grizzly Man). Treating the bears as humans forms confusion on what the bears values truly are. We should relate to the other being as if they are an individual regardless on whether the other is human