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Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect By Marc Bekoff ( Shambhala )
Release Date: 2007-11-13
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Product Description
Nonhuman animals have many of the same feelings we do. They get hurt, they suffer, they are happy, and they take care of each other. Marc Bekoff, a renowned biologist specializing in animal minds and emotions, guides readers from high school age up—including older adults who want a basic introduction to the topic—in looking at scientific research, philosophical ideas, and humane values that argue for the ethical and compassionate treatment of animals. Citing the latest scientific studies and tackling controversies with conviction, he zeroes in on the important questions, inviting reader participation with “thought experiments” and ideas for action. Among the questions considered:
Are some species more valuable or more important than others?
Do some animals feel pain and suffering and not others?
Do animals feel emotions?
Should endangered animals be reintroduced to places where they originally lived?
Should animals be kept in captivity?
Are there alternatives to using animals for food, clothing, cosmetic testing, and dissection in the science classroom?
What can we learn by imagining what it feels like to be a dog or a cat or a mouse or an ant?
What can we do to make a difference in animals’ quality of life?
Bekoff urges us not only to understand and protect animals—especially those whose help we want for our research and other human needs—but to love and respect them as our fellow beings on this planet that we all want to share in peace.
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 Good for the lay reader, but not for scientific background ( empresstj )
I purchased and read this book because I enjoyed _The Emotional Lives of Animals_. I found this book to be more geared toward personal conduct and ethics. This book is not a biologist explaining animal rights from the point of view of a biologist. This book is giving the personal opinion of the biologist without using scientific support.
For someone who is looking for a book outlining animal rights and ethical dilemmas, it is a good read, though it was not what I was looking for in particular. There are heavy themes surrounding vegetarianism and related lifestyles- to give an idea of the theme of the book.
For someone who is looking for the studies that support the author's conclusions, I suggest reading _Emotional Lives of Animals_ instead. He outlines more clearly his behavioral observations in his other book rather than this one (_Animals Matter_.)
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 absolutely wonderful book
I wish everyone could read this book - I honestly believe it would change the world.
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what we share with other creatures ( librarian11 )
What makes us similar to animals? What makes us different from animals? What makes us different from each other, especially those who do not share our emotions or thought patterns?
The author indicates that emotions are especially significant in sharing experience, and in deciding with whom we share that experience. Almost no one would choose to abuse a human being of low intellectual capacity who looks at us with a trusting smile, and almost no one would sympathize with an intellectual equal who treats such a person with cold cruelty. When we categorize other creatures who share something significant into neatly stereotyped compartments, we often find we are amazingly wrong. The author suggests that when we expand our awareness, we are often positively rewarded beyond our expectations. We can never treat animals as equals, but we can never degrade them without degrading ourselves. If we should discover creatures who are our technological and intellectual superiors, we should hope they will treat us better than we have treated other conscious creatures.
It's an interesting thesis,and it's interesting to think of the alternatives.
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Addiction
