Animal Crisis
A New Critical Theory
1. Edition May 2022
136 Pages, Hardcover
Textbook
Short Description
Leading philosophers Alice Crary and Lori Gruen offer a searing and desperately needed response to systems of thought and action that are failing animals and, ultimately, humans too. In the wake of global pandemics, mass extinctions, habitat destruction, and catastrophic climate change, they issue a clarion call to address the intertwined problems we face, arguing that we must radically reimagine our relationships with other animals.
In stark contrast to traditional theories in animal ethics, which abstract from social mechanisms harmful to human beings, Animal Crisis makes the case that there can be no animal liberation without human emancipation. Borrowing from critical theories such as ecofeminism, Crary and Gruen present a critical animal theory for understanding and combating the structural forces that enable the diminishment of so many to the advantage of a few. With seven case studies of complex human-animal relations, they make an urgent plea to dismantle the "human supremacism" that is devastating animal lives and hurtling us toward ecocide.
Further versions
Leading philosophers Alice Crary and Lori Gruen offer a searing and desperately needed response to systems of thought and action that are failing animals and, ultimately, humans too. In the wake of global pandemics, mass extinctions, habitat destruction, and catastrophic climate change, they issue a clarion call to address the intertwined problems we face, arguing that we must radically reimagine our relationships with other animals.
In stark contrast to traditional theories in animal ethics, which abstract from social mechanisms harmful to human beings, Animal Crisis makes the case that there can be no animal liberation without human emancipation. Borrowing from critical theories such as ecofeminism, Crary and Gruen present a critical animal theory for understanding and combating the structural forces that enable the diminishment of so many to the advantage of a few. With seven case studies of complex human-animal relations, they make an urgent plea to dismantle the "human supremacism" that is devastating animal lives and hurtling us toward ecocide.
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1 Crisis: Orangutans
2 Ethics: Pigs
3 Suffering: Cows
4 Minds: Octopuses
5 Dignity: Rats
6 Seeing: Parrots
7 Politics: Ticks
References
Index
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
"So radical, so morally unsettling, that you have to take your courage in both hands to read it. But read it you should."
Raimond Gaita, author of The Philosopher's Dog
"A deeply moving book that calls on us to reconsider our relationship to animals and to other humans and ecosystems we depend on."
Sally Haslanger, author of Resisting Reality
"[A]n inspirational and comprehensive book on animal ethics: concise yet packed with an impressive amount of potent information."
Leonardo Reviews
Lori Gruen is the William Griffin Professor of Philosophy at Wesleyan University.
