Porcupines and dilemmas

Porcupines did enjoy a lot of attention from the part of indigenous people in North America, and also by great philosophers and psychologists like Schopenhauer and Freud. Yet, what was that all about? Arthur Schopenhauer wrote Parerga und Paralipomena in 1851, where he made a sort of parable about porcupines and their dilemmas related to the winter season. The porcupines "crowded themselves very close together one cold winter’s day so as to profit by one another’s warmth and so save themselves from being frozen to death. But soon they felt one another’s quills, which induced them to separate again." So the porcupines were actually "driven backwards and forwards from one trouble to the other," till they managed to find "a mean distance at which they could most tolerably exist."

Freud later on quoted Schopenhauer in one of the footnotes to his 1921 essay entitled Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. In his writing, Freud spoke of the porcupines' dilemma in relation to the so-called "sediment of feelings of aversion and hostility" that are brought about by any relationship that intends to last for a long period of time. Freud asks rhetorical questions regarding the concept of intimacy and close communication: How much intimacy can we endure? In other words, how much intimacy do we need to survive in this world? Because the need for intimacy is one of the most common, natural human needs.

But let us see some things about these creatures called porcupines. Porcupines are some of the most interesting creatures on earth, largely due to their physical appearance and behavior. They are very strong rodents that can be found in Africa, North America and Canada. Yet the African porcupine is more dangerous, as it has longer quills. Generally, porcupines prefer wooden areas. It can grow up to a weight of 35 pounds, and can live for about 5 years in natural environment, and about 10 years in captivity.

The word "porcupine" is derived from the French "porc d'épine", meaning "thorny pig". Ever since ancient times, people believed that porcupines could actually throw their quills at their enemies, but that was in fact their gesture of getting rid of loose, old quills.

Apparently, although they do not shoot their quills like arrows to hunt their food, or to defend themselves, those elements have a very protective nature for porcupines. Whenever the porcupine feels threatened, he would raise his pines so that he looks rather like an enormous pin cushion. Those quills really are dangerous for the porcupines' adversaries, as they can go deep into the skin and cause severe wounds. The quills are also very hard to remove.

Porcupines are also creatures of the night. They have very weak eye vision, which is nonetheless compensated by their great sense of smell. They adore eating fir leaves, seeds, flowers, nuts, all sorts of grasses, berries, water plants, and many more. They are also crazy about salt. They spend their days sleeping in trees or taking care of their newborn babies. The young porcupines can make very fast movements, unlike their parents, and they also can be very playful and active during the day. These animals also are great at swimming.

Of the porcupine species, one could mention Erethizon dorsatum, widely-spread in Canada. The largest male porcupine can weigh up to 24 pounds and grow up to 90 cm high. The funny thing about porcupines is their reaction to being attacked. Thus, they turn their back towards their enemies and lash at them their quilled tail. Apart from the funny aspect, it is quite dangerous, as the quills can get right into the attacker's skin.

With all the wild side, porcupines in fact live amongst us. There are people who seem to have a porcupine personality. All they expect from any situation is really being offended by others. Because of that, trying to get close to such people is similar to the brave attempt to try and hug a porcupine. Due to their lack of response to social interaction, they are generally held at an arm's length by others, which creates a vicious circle, as it gives porcupine people reasons to keep their distance towards their fellow humans.