Here There Be Horses

Despite all of the social revelations that come towards its end, I found the most interesting part of Book 4 of Gulliver's Travels to be Gulliver's first encounter with the Houyhnhnms. Two of this breed of intelligent horses appear to Gulliver as he hides from the Yahoos (after making enemies of them with the flat of his sword). One approaches him, examines him, and calls on his partner to decide what to do with him. In the meantime Gulliver reflects on the grace and knowledge of these horses, remarking that breeders of such wise beasts must be very smart. He talks of going to find the dwellings of this breeding race of men, unaware that humans are the true Yahoos in this episode.

What intrigues me most about this encounter is the ease with which Gulliver casts assumptions about the Houyhnhnms. Being a man of science, and having just finished a voyage thematically focused on the pros and cons of scientific inquiry and rational thought, one would think that his character might regard the two horses objectively before considering their human masters. If they exhibit the traits of wisdom, why not go regard them as sentient beings? Why frame one's observations inside conventional laws of nature when one's past three voyages should discredit with this train of thought? I took from this instance that one ought not take for granted what others take or don't take for granted.