The symbolic animal

"The meanings of human language are abstractions, not material objects". This quote from Savater's chapter The symbolic animal, I found it quite interesting because I believe what he says its true. Human's meanings are abstractions and not objects, because for example when we express ourselves through language we feel and are talking about abstract things like feelings, we can't express something merely through objects. Abstractions, as the name says it are undefined things that we can't see our touch however when expressing ourselves are fundamental since we express from the deepest of ourself.

On the other hand, Savater also uses this quote as an argument to support the idea that we differ from animals because our language is based on the finding of a meaning, we say things because we want to mean something while animals just want to get something from it. And here I beg to differ, all though I agree than humans use language in order to find a meaning to the words we say I do believe than animals do the same thing.

Even though animals can't communicate through words, they communicate through different methods, one can be consider by symbols, and doesn't Savater says that human is a symbolic animal? By wagging its tail a dog is saying that he's happy he wants you to know the meaning of its wagging of the tail, it may sound as a simple example but its true. I do believe animals look for the meaning of what one communicates because by seeing their behaviour in certain circumstances we can see how they understand everything, and by understanding they're in fact giving a meaning to what is being communicated. Let us remember that by the symbol of a dog wagging his tail they become symbolic animals too, for what is a symbolic animal? Someone that communicates through symbols!