Read more
A number of factors-new research into human and animal consciousness, a heightened awareness of the methods and consequences of intensive farming, and modern concerns about animal welfare and ecology-have made our relationship to animals an area of burning interest in contemporary philosophy. Utilizing methods inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein, the contributors to this volume explore this area in a variety of ways.Topics discussed include: * scientific vs. non-scientific ways of describing human and animal behaviour* the ethics of eating particular animal species* human nature, emotions, and instinctive reactions* responses of wonder towards the natural world* the moral relevance of literature* the concept of dignity* the question of whether non-human animals can use languageThis book will be of great value to anyone interested in philosophical and interdisciplinary issues concerning language, ethics and humanity''s relation to animals and the natural world.>
About the author
Niklas Forsberg is Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Uppsala University, Sweden. He has previously written on Wittgenstein, Cavell, Murdoch, Austin and Derrida.Mikel Burley is Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Leeds, UK. His previous books include Rebirth and the Stream of Life: A Philosophical Study of Reincarnation, Karma and Ethics (2016) and Contemplating Religious Forms of Life: Wittgenstein and D. Z. Phillips (2012). He is also a co-editor of Language, Ethics and Animal Life: Wittgenstein and Beyond (2012).Nora Hämäläinen is Senior Researcher at the Centre for Ethics as Study in Human Value at the University of Pardubice, Czech Republic. She has written about ethics, literature, philosophical method, moral personhood and moral change.