The Distance Machine: Why Do We Run Away from Our Own Animality?

This article examines the concept of the 'distance machine'—a sophisticated psychological and cultural mechanism by which modern humans persistently distance themselves from their biological roots. The author examines how our complex relationship with nature has developed over millennia, from the Paleolithic fluidity of form and therianthropy to the Neolithic regime of biopolitical domination. The text cites the groundbreaking New York Declaration of 2024 as key scientific evidence for a paradigm shift in the perception of nonhuman consciousness. It challenges the entrenched anthropocentric dogma of the 'Great Divide,' demonstrating that human reason, far from being a denial of animality, constitutes one of its most sophisticated survival strategies. This is a profound call to rethink human identity in the context of biological continuity and contemporary ethical standards that mandate a shift from mechanism to zoonomics.