Sentience in the Sea? -

Sentience in the Sea?

Introducing Excerpts from Ocean Metaphor: Unexpected Life Lessons from the Sea

Article by Cathryn Castle Garcia

Anthropomorphism. It’s a big word that simply means to attribute human traits or emotions to non-humans. Like so many big words, it comes from the Greek, Anthro, or human, and morph, to form. The scientific community frowns on it, citing concerns that anthropomorphism can, as one expert put it, “lead to inaccurate understanding of the biological processes of the natural world.” But many psychologists and human behaviorists have a different take, identifying anthropomorphism as a natural tendency of human psychology, with roots that reach deep into the bedrock of human existence as a storytelling and artistic device. Practically every culture has folklore and art that features animals exhibiting human traits and emotions.

Together with my husband, Gui Garcia, I’ve spent countless hours underwater, observing and filming marine life in a variety of aquatic environments all over the world. A few years ago we wrote a book about it.

Our book, Ocean Metaphor is a collection of stories about marine animals. We offer some interesting facts about the sea creatures we see while diving, and we share extraordinary photos – our own, and those contributed by friends who are among the world’s finest underwater photographers – so you can know their beauty and appreciate their uniqueness. We also straight-up anthropomorphize – we boldly assign a human quality to each animal, inviting you to imagine how these creatures’ subaquatic lives and experiences might in some way mirror our own. We’re excited to share excerpts from Ocean Metaphor here.

As passionate underwater explorers, our emotive way of experiencing the underwater world isn’t new. And it isn’t unique. Sy Montgomery’s book, The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, and the hit film, “My Octopus Teacher,” are but a couple examples. Even some marine biologists who a few decades ago didn’t dare suggest marine animals might experience sentience – the capacity to experience positive and negative feelings such as joy and sadness – are now reconsidering. It’s exciting to know that studies are currently underway that might reveal more about what marine animals think and feel.

Hopefully, our essays and imagery will inspire you to experience the underwater environment as a metaphor for your life – a way to consider your own thoughts and emotions, your personal struggles and triumphs. When you dive, we want you and your dive buddies to feel deeply connected to the world around you, to nature and to the people and the non-human beings that inhabit our planet.

The Sea Star

The sea star gets its name from its shape, which generally resembles a star. Once known as a starfish, it isn’t a fish at all. About 2,000 species of sea stars are known to exist, and can be found in all the world’s oceans, from the poles to the tropics.

The sea star is known for radial symmetry—meaning each point extending from the center of the animal is roughly identical. Like all marine invertebrates, the sea star lacks a spine. It typically has a central disk and five or more arms. Fossil evidence suggests the sea star has been around at least 450 million years with little change in appearance.

The sea star has a sophisticated hydraulic system for propulsion. It has a complex life cycle and is capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction. The sea star has eyespots on the end of each arm. While its eyesight isn’t keen, it can detect light and dark.

Most sea stars are remarkably resilient and can regenerate arms lost or damaged from attacks by predators. The sea star has another rather shocking survival strategy—the ability to willingly shed arms as a means of defense if attacked.

The Sea Star Metaphor

The sea star is known for its resiliency, which is defined as the power or ability to recover quickly from difficulties such as illness or adversity. It originates from the Latin word resiliens, meaning, “to jump or leap back.”

We humans are hardwired for survival. But can you imagine cutting your own arm or leg off in order survive – and then trusting that a new one would grow in its place? It would take heaps of courage and a whole lot of faith to live through such an ordeal.

The sea star takes everything in stride. Just because it lacks a spine doesn’t mean it isn’t strong.

Sometimes yielding is a show of strength. By doing so, the sea star survives an assault minus a few arms – but armed with determination to grow again. The sea star is a rock star of resilience.

Life is hard. Adversity, tragedy and loss are part of the human condition. There are times when we might feel like we’re being ripped limb from limb. We become wounded, heartbroken, burned out or bankrupt. This is when we can take a lesson from the sea star and remain resilient. We take the next breath or the next step. We go on. In time we begin to recover, to nurture new growth.