In a world increasingly dominated by human beings, the survival of other species becomes more and more questionable. In this brilliant book, Paul Shepard offers a provocative alternative to an "us or them" mentality, proposing that other species are integ
...in forty years of relentless reading. We have all seen the evidence of subjects driven mad by sensory deprivation. We know that the health of an individual is tied up with the health of the community. Shepard gives us a glimpse of the myriad ways in which the mental health of our species is tied up with the interspecies conversations that produced our consciousness. To vastly oversimplify his synthesis of anthropological, biological, and cultural sources, Shepard's thesis is that the only argument that can possibly save wild animals and the environments upon which they survive is this: that without them we will destroy that heritage of which we are most proud: our human consciousness. The arguments are expanded in his other work, and I keep meaning to read them-as soon as I have absorbed this one. I've been rereading it for 20 years.
Paul Shepard's Thinking Animals
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
The original edition of this book was published by The Viking Press in 1978 (I know, because I was its editor), and a very important book it is. I'm delighted to see it back in print, because it got little attention when it first appeared. Few scientists then believed in the importance of animals to the development of human intelligence; now the subject of animal intelligence itself is taken far more seriously, and I'm certain that Paul Shepard's work made a significant contribution to this change.
ThriftBooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. We personally assess every book's quality and offer rare, out-of-print treasures. We deliver the joy of reading in recyclable packaging with free standard shipping on US orders over $15. ThriftBooks.com. Read more. Spend less.