A wise old owl sat on an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard
Why aren’t we like that wise old bird?
~Unknown from 1800s
Wisdom and compassion share a common first step: listening. Owls seemingly understand this better than humans. Popularly known as a symbol of wisdom and knowledge, many may not know that the owl is also a model of altruism and compassion. We, especially in American culture, seemingly listen more in an effort to reply rather than in an attempt to understand: simply turn on the radio and television or attend a local town meeting and ask yourself if you hear more wisdom and compassion or less. With the sound of our neighborhood barred owl once again echoing in the night and the release of a new book by Tony Angell (The House of Owls), I couldn’t help thinking of not only how owls epitomize the blend or union of wisdom and compassion but also what that symbolism might mean for us in an everyday sense. The basic lesson for me is: we must listen more than we talk because listening is essential for acquiring wisdom and understanding as well as for developing compassion and kindness.
An owl listens to understand its environment. It listens so carefully and intensely that scientists have found that the neurons multiply in the auditory part of its brain; typical neurons in a human simply add. It takes the idea of ‘listening to learn’ to another level. Imagine being so focused on listening that you could pinpoint any change in your environment or in the people you are with at any given moment. It would truly be a heightened sense of awareness. The owl, in essence, improves its understanding and awareness by literally and figuratively multiplying its focus on listening. It synthesizes at least three different auditory signals at once. Although I love and support our use of the owl as a symbol of wisdom, I wish we would understand why our symbolism is correct: it is the owl’s listening ability that makes it wise.
Researchers have recently discovered another owl trait that makes them unique among birds: altruism. A study in the journal Animal Behaviour found that barn owls share food with their “smaller, hungrier siblings.” Although such generous behavior is considered rare in the aviary world, the existence of owl altruism weakens the Hobbesian argument that the animal instincts to be selfish, “nasty and brutish” are the foundation of human action. The way of the owl supports the Lockean notion that the basic instinct of humanity is founded on kindness, generosity and caring. While human social reality is a mixture of both Hobbesian and Lockean ideas, the way of the owl asks us to shift the balance of explanatory power regarding the basis of human action from Hobbes to Locke. From business to politics to sports, most of our culture promotes Hobbesian thinking over Lockean thought. If the Hobbesian argument is right, however, can the owl really be the only instinctually altruistic sentient being? Even Charles Darwin said no. Yes, the same Darwin who many still erroneously believe is synonymous with the phrase “survival of the fittest.”
In The Descent of Man, Charles Darwin challenged what he wrote in On The Origin of Species. In the newer work he said “I perhaps attributed too much to the action of natural selection or the survival of the fittest,” and “it hardly seems probable, that the number of men gifted with such virtues [as bravery and sympathy]…could be increased through natural selection, that is, by the survival of the fittest….for those communities, which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members, would flourish best, and rear the greatest number of offspring.” Darwin’s use of the word “sympathy,” in the words of Paul Ekman, “today would be termed empathy, altruism, or compassion.” Darwin even called compassion “the almost ever-present instinct” when a fellow human being witnesses the suffering of another. The bumper sticker way of teaching and labeling Darwin’s ideas as exclusively focused on “survival of the fittest” is not only misleading, but it completely misses his idea that humanity’s success hinges on its compassion or sympathy.
Speaking of Darwin, did you ever wonder why we were born with two ears and one mouth? Just as the success of any owl is based upon the strength of its listening ability so is the success of any person. Are you ready to fly powered by listening and balanced on the wings of wisdom and compassion? Do you have the strength to follow the way of the owl?
BOOKS & ARTICLES:
Natalie Angier, “The Owl Comes Into Its Own,” The New York Times (February 25, 2013)
Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, 2nd ed. (1874), esp. chapters 2, 4 and 5
Paul Ekman, “Darwin’s Compassionate View of Human Nature,” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 303, no. 6 (10 February 2010): 557-558.
Paul Ekman, “Survival of the Kindest,” Mindful: Taking Time for What Matters
Kate Wong, “Owl Hearing Relies on Advanced Math,” Scientific American (April 13, 2001)
Julie Zickefoose, “Wise Guys,” a book review of Tony Angell’s The House of Owls in The Wall Street Journal (April 24, 2015)
Chris is Professor of Political Science at Western Connecticut State University, a Fulbright Scholar, Director of the Kathwari Honors Program, and founding Director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity & Innovation. He is also the author of "The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success" (HarperOne, 2017).
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