--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A friend once asked me why it was that…" description: "\"“A friend once asked me why it was that stories about animals and their heroism...are so compelling. ...we love them because they're the closest thing ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/gwen-cooper-29396_animals_a-friend-once-asked-me-why-it-was-that-s_1707339.jpg" --- # A friend once asked me why it was that stories about… ![“A friend once asked me why it was that stories about animals and their heroism...are so compelling. ...we love them because they're the closest thing we have to material evidence of an objective moral order--or, to put it another way, they're the closest thing we have to proof of the existence of…” quote by Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/gwen-cooper-29396_animals_a-friend-once-asked-me-why-it-was-that-s_1707339.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/gwen-cooper-29396_animals_a-friend-once-asked-me-why-it-was-that-s_1707339.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/gwen-cooper-29396_animals_a-friend-once-asked-me-why-it-was-that-s_1707339.jpg) > ““A friend once asked me why it was that stories about animals and their heroism...are so compelling. ...we love them because they're the closest thing we have to material evidence of an objective moral order--or, to put it another way, they're the closest thing we have to proof of the existence of God. They seem to prove that the things that matter to and move us the most--things like love, courage, loyalty, altruism--aren't just ideas we made up from nothing. To see them demonstrated in other animals proves they're real things, that they exist in the world independently of what humans invent and tell each other in the form of myth or fable.”” [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories about animal heroism serve as perceived evidence of universal moral values, suggesting these virtues exist independently of human invention. **In simple terms:** Animal tales feel like proof of real moral truths. Key Takeaway Recognize moral values may be universal. Themes morality empathy storytelling nature spirituality Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - literature analysis - environmental advocacy - personal reflection Key Concepts anthropomorphism ethical realism symbolic representation Questions to Reflect On - Do you think moral truths can be proven through nature? - How do these stories shape our ethical views? A Different Perspective Such narratives may oversimplify complex animal behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals Heroism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-heroism-1213166/) [Animals Proves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-proves-1213168/) [Animals-stories-heroism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-stories-heroism-8778/) [Existence of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-of-god/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Heroism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroism/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Real things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-things/) [Stories Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-animals-1213167/) [Things Exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-exist/) [Things that matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-that-matter/) ## Related quotes > [I've always loved stories of animals and birds that can appear to be human, just by taking off their skins or their feathers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delia-sherman/i-ve-always-loved-stories-of-animals-and-birds-that-can-appear-to-be/) [Delia Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delia-sherman/) > [I used to wonder, when my grandmother would tell me what the wolf said to the jackal, how these animals can talk. And, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kani/i-used-to-wonder-when-my-grandmother-would-tell-me-what-the-wolf-said/) [John Kani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kani/) > [“Even if only one person’s respect for animals increases, then writing Talon would have been worthwhile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-g-rard/even-if-only-one-person-s-respect-for-animals-increases-then-writing/) [Christopher Gérard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-g-rard/) > [“Animals are precious gifts offering unconditional love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-kaelin/animals-are-precious-gifts-offering-unconditional-love/) [Kat Kaelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-kaelin/) > [“All things exist in as simple a form as necessity dictates. When a thing is labeled 'complex,' that's just a roundabout way of saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lee-martinez/all-things-exist-in-as-simple-a-form-as-necessity-dictates-when-a/) [A. Lee Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lee-martinez/) > [Since things neither exist nor do not exist, are neither real nor unreal, are utterly beyond adopting and rejecting - one might as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-things-neither-exist-nor-do-not-exist-are-neither-real-nor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just want fiction to remain a vital force for entertainment and not just for contemplation. Both things can exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/i-just-want-fiction-to-remain-a-vital-force-for-entertainment-and-not/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“All things exist as they are perceived: at least in relation to the percipient. 'The mind is its own place, and of itself can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/all-things-exist-as-they-are-perceived-at-least-in-relation-to-the/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Create a world in which these things do or do not exist, or in which they are extended in some way. Test reality against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/create-a-world-in-which-these-things-do-or-do-not-exist-or-in-which/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [“It takes the trust of God for things that exist, to wait on him for the evidence of things that do not exist. Faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/it-takes-the-trust-of-god-for-things-that-exist-to-wait-on-him-for/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I tend to like things that already exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-tend-to-like-things-that-already-exist/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [“But all them things exist," said Nanny Ogg. "That's no call to go around believing in them. It only encourages 'em.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/but-all-them-things-exist-said-nanny-ogg-that-s-no-call-to-go-around/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [We operate with nothing but things which do not exist, with lines, planes, bodies, atoms, divisible time, divisible space - how should explanation even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-operate-with-nothing-but-things-which-do-not-exist-with-lines/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [True scholarship consists in knowing not what things exist, but what they mean; it is not memory but judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/true-scholarship-consists-in-knowing-not-what-things-exist-but-what/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [We should be focusing on building things that do not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/we-should-be-focusing-on-building-things-that-do-not-exist/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) ## More by Gwen Cooper > [“He had curled himself up into a minature sphere in the farthest corner of the box, a fuzzy softball that would have fit eaisly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/he-had-curled-himself-up-into-a-minature-sphere-in-the-farthest/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [“Mocho was a Spanish word that meant maimed or referred to something that had been lopped off like a stump. To call Homer el…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/mocho-was-a-spanish-word-that-meant-maimed-or-referred-to-something/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [“This displacement between then and now created an ever-present sense of unease, like a low-frequency sound she couldn't hear clearly enough to identify, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/this-displacement-between-then-and-now-created-an-ever-present-sense/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [“I think the thing that drove me craziest was wondering why? Why me, why my apartment? The most maddening thing to accept is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/i-think-the-thing-that-drove-me-craziest-was-wondering-why-why-me-why/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [So I didn't adopt Homer because he was cute and little and sweet, or because he was helpless and needed me. I adopted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/so-i-didn-t-adopt-homer-because-he-was-cute-and-little-and-sweet-or/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [Love is love, whether it goes on two legs or four.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/love-is-love-whether-it-goes-on-two-legs-or-four/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [Have you seen a blowfish driving a sports car?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/have-you-seen-a-blowfish-driving-a-sports-car/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [“There was a terrible danger in loving small, fragile things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/there-was-a-terrible-danger-in-loving-small-fragile-things/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [“I'd understood that when you see something so fundamentally worthwhile in somebody else, you don't look for all the reasons that might keep it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/i-d-understood-that-when-you-see-something-so-fundamentally/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [“The beauty of having nothing to lose is that you have everything to gain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/the-beauty-of-having-nothing-to-lose-is-that-you-have-everything-to/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [“Homer would scuttle up the side of my denim-clad leg (to this day, there’s nothing he loves climbing so much as a pair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/homer-would-scuttle-up-the-side-of-my-denim-clad-leg-to-this-day/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [Some men would rather be photographed with their fish than with their wives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/some-men-would-rather-be-photographed-with-their-fish-than-with-their/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [“What happened was that I caught a glimpse of something I desperately needed to believe in at that point in my life. I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/what-happened-was-that-i-caught-a-glimpse-of-something-i-desperately/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [My philosophy when it came to pets was much like that of having children: You got what you got, and you loved them unconditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/my-philosophy-when-it-came-to-pets-was-much-like-that-of-having/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) > [To be a person who loves books is to be half in love with the idea of New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-cooper/to-be-a-person-who-loves-books-is-to-be-half-in-love-with-the-idea-of/) [Gwen Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) [Explore all 17 Gwen Cooper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-cooper/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A friend once asked me why it was that stories about animals and their heroism...are so compelling. ...we love them because they're the closest thing we have to material evidence of an objective moral order--or, to put it another way, they're the closest thing we have to proof of the existence of God. They seem to prove that the things that matter to and move us the most--things like love, courage, loyalty, altruism--aren't just ideas we made up from nothing. 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