Understanding Animals: Philosophy for Dog and Cat Lovers

(Hardback)

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How do animals perceive the world What does it really feel like to be a cat, or a dog

In Understanding Animals, Lars Svendsen investigates how humans can attempt to understand the lives of other animals. The book delves into animal communication, intelligence, self-awareness, loneliness and grief, but most fundamentally how humans and animals can cohabit and build a form of friendship. Svendsen provides examples from many different animal species, from chimpanzees to octopus, but his main focus is on cats and dogs - the animals that many of us are close to in our daily lives.

Using both philosophical analysis and the latest scientific discoveries, Svendsen argues that an owner's relationship with their pet is as equally valid and insightful as the scientific study of human-animal relations. With this entertaining and thought-provoking book, animal-lovers and pet owners will gain a deeper understanding of what it is like to be an animal, and in turn, a human.

Reviews

It has been a wonderful reading year for innovative, intelligent and passionate nonfiction. Four books in particular were outstanding . . . [including] Lars Svendsens Understanding Animals. * Simon Caterson, The Australian 'Books of the Year' *
Combines scientific research with the teachings of the great philosophers, particularly Wittgenstein, Kant, and Heidegger, to probe the consciousness of animals, especially the ones closest to us (as well as, unexpectedly, octopuses). Chapters address animal morality, grief, loneliness and more. Readers will emerge knowing more about themselves than animals, and thats precisely Svendsens goal. * Toronto Star *
Reading these two excellent books on what we do and do not have in common with animals had a similarly exhilarating yet disorienting effect. In attempting to enlarge our understanding of animals beginning with those domestic pets closest to us we must be prepared to confront our own limitations, both physical and intellectual. In doing this, we may not only deepen our awareness of them but also more clearly explain our own existence . . . [These books] approach the knowledge deficit and empathy gap between humans and other animals from quite different angles. Each, in its own way, is positive and indispensable. In essence the message from the two authors is the same we humans are limited in our understanding of animals, as well as ourselves, only by our own curiosity, intelligence and imagination. * The Australian *
The book provides an entertaining read for anyone who has wondered what animals think of us, how they perceive the world around them, or what it is like to be another animal . . . It will certainly prompt renewed consideration of our relationship with animals and our position in a shared world. * OxVeg News *
It is funny how often philosophers have been right about other animals, and how often they have been wrong. In this enlightening book, Lars Svendsen takes us through a history of Western philosophical musings, from Wittgensteins lion to Descartes automatons, comparing them with current knowledge. * Frans de Waal, author of Mamas Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves *
As knowledge about life human and otherwise grows greater and greater, we need a lucid guide through a thicket of questions that emerge when we try to understand animals, including the ones we are. Lars Svendsen is that guide . . . Clear as always and with a dose of characteristic humour thrown in, Svendsen draws on contributions from all the participant disciplines philosophy, biology and zoology, for instance, but also cognitive science and even literature to address the many questions that arise when we take seriously the importance of understanding animals. * Jeffrey Kosky, author of 'Arts of Wonder: Enchanting Secularity' (2013) *

Author Bio

Lars Svendsen is Professor in the Department of Philosophy, University of Bergen, Norway. He is the author of many books for Reaktion including A Philosophy of Boredom (2004) and A Philosophy of Loneliness (2017).