Animals as αλόγα: a Critical Appraisal of a Murky Concept

In our times, phenomena such as industrial animal agriculture, increased meat consumption, and the loss of species necessitate an urgent shift in human attitudes towards animals. Within the Orthodox Church, there seems to exist some discrepancy concerning different approaches to animals. On the one hand, the ideals and praxis of monastic saints demonstrates a harmonious relationship with animals, supported by the idea of a return to the original paradisiacal state. On the other hand, this seems to have minimal impact on the broader Church, or its teachings. The patristic, hymnographic, and even modern Orthodox discourses are inherently linked with the concept of animals as αλόγα, beings lacking the faculty of reason. Historically, this notion has frequently been used to justify human entitlement to treat animals as objects of consumption and mistreatment. The validity of this argument was debated already in antiquity, and its integration into patristic theology created some tensions with the paradisiacal ideals. The notion of animals as αλόγα is problematic in several ways related to its semantic ambiguity, inconsistent applications, and practical realities. Therefore, the argument requires reinterpretation in the light of contemporary concerns and modern scientific discoveries regarding animal cognition. This paper seeks to trace and examine the principal uses, applications, and problematic aspects of the idea of animals as αλόγα, focusing on patristic sources with some reference to Greek antiquity, in addition to some insights of modern natural science.