Description
Book SynopsisVinciane Despret argues that behaviors we identify as separating humans from animals do not actually properly belong to humans. Combining serious scholarship with humor, this book poses twenty-six questions that stretch our preconceived ideas about what animals do, what they think about, and what they want.
Trade Review"Despret’s book is a timely one—as today ethical questions related to animals seem to be almost everywhere."—PopMatters.com
"Many philosophers have considered the issue of animal rights, but Despret considerably broadens the range of moral and philosophical concerns in this field."—CHOICE
"Eccentric but brilliant."—American Book Review
Table of ContentsContents
Foreword
Bruno Latour
Acknowledgments
How to Use This Book
Translator's Note
A for Artists: Stupid like a painter?
B for Beasts: Do apes really ape?
C for Corporeal: Is it all right to urinate in front of animals?
D for Delinquents: Can animals revolt?
E for Exhibitionists: Do animals see themselves as we see them?
F for Fabricating Science: Do animals have a sense of prestige?
G for Genius: With whom would extraterrestrials want to negotiate?
H for Hierarchies: Might the dominance of males be a myth?
I for Impaired: Are animals reliable models of morality?
J for Justice: Can animals compromise?
K for Killable: Are any species killable?
L for Laboratory: What are rats interested in during experiments?
M for Magpies: How can we interest elephants in mirrors?
N for Necessity: Can one lead a rat to infanticide?
O for Oeuvres: Do birds make art?
P for Pretenders: Can deception be proof of good manners?
Q for Queer: Are penguins coming out of the closet?
R for Reaction: Do goats agree with statistics?
S for Separations: Can animals be broken down?
T for Tying Knots: Who invented language and mathematics?
U for Umwelt: Do beasts know ways of being in the world?
V for Versions: Do chimpanzees die like we do?
W for Work: Why do we say that cows don’t do anything?
X for Xenografts: Can one live with the heart of a pig?
Y for YouTube: Are animals the new celebrities?
Z for Zoophilia: Can horses consent?
Notes
Index
