In the Company of Animals Paperback: A Study of Human-Animal Relationships (Canto original series) - Softcover

Serpell, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521577799 ISBN 13: 9780521577793

Verlag: Cambridge University Press, 2008

Inhaltsangabe

What purpose, if any, do pets really serve? Are they simply an outlet for misplaced love? Or four-legged friends who help us to satisfy vital emotional needs? Exploring the phenomenon of pet-keeping across history and between cultures, this thought-provoking study reassesses our relationships with animals and the natural world.

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Críticas:

'Arguing by copious example in a thoroughly well-researched and well-written book, Serpell demonstrates that pet-keeping appeals both to a wide variety of cultures throughout the world, and to all social classes within Western society.' Stephen Jay Gould, The New York Review of Books

'In the Company of Animals is a work of cross-cultural panache. Serpell writes passionately and well about a subject that seems to have fallen between the cracks of specialisations. His overview is sweeping and provocative.' R. Z. Sheppard, Time Magazine

'... why did James Serpell feel the need to write a book in defence of pet-keeping? Surely this is one aspect of human behaviour that requires no advocacy. But read on. Indeed, read his book, for it is full of fascinating comments on a subject that many of us have taken for granted.' Desmond Morris, BBC Wildlife

Contraportada:

What purpose, if any, do pets really serve? Are they simply an outlet for misplaced love? Or four-legged friends who help us to satisfy vital emotional needs? Whatever they are, when we elevate pets to the status of social companions, we undermine the distinction between human and non-human. In other words, pets force us to confront the moral contradictions inherent in our treatment of animals in general. Pursuing this idea to its logical conclusion, the author uncovers a fascinating and disturbing trail of myths, evasions and double standards which humans have used since earliest times to justify their subjugation of nature and other life forms. Through an exploration of the phenomenon of pet-keeping across history and between cultures, this thought-provoking study reassesses our relationships with animals and the natural world. This new edition of In the Company of Animals has been substantially revised and updated to take into account developments in research since 1986.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0521577799
• ISBN 13: 9780521577793
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Anzahl der Seiten: 316