Animal lessons : how they teach us to be human / Kelly Oliver.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Oliver, Kelly, 1958-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animals (Philosophy).

Human-animal relationships.

Human beings--Animal nature.

Human beings.

Philosophical anthropology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, c2009.

Summary:

Philosophy reads humanity against animality, arguing that "man" is man because he is separate from beast. Deftly challenging this position, Kelly Oliver proves that, in fact, it is the animal that teaches us to be human. Through their sex, their habits, and our perception of their purpose, animals show us how not to be them.This kinship plays out in a number of ways. We sacrifice animals to establish human kinship, but without the animal, the bonds of "brotherhood" fall apart. Either kinship with animals is possible or kinship with humans is impossible. Philosophy holds that humans and animals are distinct, but in defending this position, the discipline depends on a discourse that relies on the animal for its very definition of the human. Through these and other examples, Oliver does more than just establish an animal ethics. She transforms ethics by showing how its very origin is dependent upon the animal. Examining for the first time the treatment of the animal in the work of Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, Agamben, Freud, Lacan, and Kristeva, among others, Animal Lessons argues that the animal bites back, thereby reopening the question of the animal for philosophy.-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : biting the hand that feeds you : the role of animals in philosophies of man

What's wrong with animal rights?

The right to remain silent

Animal pedagogy

You are what you eat : Rousseau's cat

Say the human responded : Herder's sheep

Difference "worthy of its name"

"Hair of the dog" : Derrida's and Rousseau's good taste

Sexual difference, animal difference : Derrida's sexy silkworm

It's our fault

The beaver's struggle with species-being : De Beauvoir and the praying mantis

Answering the call of nature : Lacan walking the dog

Estranged kinship

The abyss between humans and animals : Heidegger puts the bee in being

"Strange kinship" : Merleau-Ponty's sensuous stickleback

Stopping the anthropological machine : Agamben's ticktocking tick

Psychoanalysis and the science of kinship

Psychoanalysis as animal by-product : Freud's zoophilia

Animal abjects, maternal abjects : Kristeva's strays

Conclusion: sustainable ethics.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780231520492 (electronic book)