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When Animals Speak: Toward an Interspecies Democracy
Winner, 2020 ASCA Book Award, given by the Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis
A groundbreaking argument for the political rights of animals
In When Animals Speak , Eva Meijer develops a new, ground-breaking theory of language and politics, arguing that non-human animals speak―and, most importantly, act―politically. From geese and squid to worms and dogs, she highlights the importance of listening to animal voices, introducing ways to help us bridge the divide between the human and non-human world.
Drawing on insights from science, philosophy, and politics, Meijer provides fascinating, real-world examples of animal communities who use their voices to speak, and act, in political ways. When Animals Speak encourages us to rethink our relations with other animals, showing that their voices should be taken into account as the starting point for a new interspecies democracy.
A groundbreaking argument for the political rights of animals
In When Animals Speak , Eva Meijer develops a new, ground-breaking theory of language and politics, arguing that non-human animals speak―and, most importantly, act―politically. From geese and squid to worms and dogs, she highlights the importance of listening to animal voices, introducing ways to help us bridge the divide between the human and non-human world.
Drawing on insights from science, philosophy, and politics, Meijer provides fascinating, real-world examples of animal communities who use their voices to speak, and act, in political ways. When Animals Speak encourages us to rethink our relations with other animals, showing that their voices should be taken into account as the starting point for a new interspecies democracy.
304 pages, Paperback
Published November 26, 2019
20 people are currently reading
506 people want to read
About the author
Eva Meijer
37 books174 followersEva Meijer is a philosopher, visual artist, writer and singer-songwriter. They write novels, philosophical essays, academic texts, poems and columns, and their work has been translated into over twenty languages. Recurring themes are language including silence, madness, nonhuman animals, and politics. Meijer also works as an academic philosopher, writes essays and columns for Dutch newspapers, and is a member of the Multispecies Collective.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 7, 2022
Czytam wszystko, co wpadnie mi w ręce, a co dotyczy praw zwierząt, antropocentryzmu, tego jak postrzegamy zwierzęta pozaludzkie. Ta książka ogromnie mi się podobała, wyciągnęłam z niej wiele nowych przemyśleń, ale też jestem już zaawansowaną czytelniczką książek o zwierzętach pozaludzkich, poruszam się w tej terminologii i mam wykształcenie lingwistyczne. To wszystko zdecydowanie ułatwiło mi lekturę. Jest to książka mocno akademicka, ale wartościowa, więc jeżeli jesteście podobnie zainteresowani tematem jak ja i niestraszne wam różne teorie ta książka może być dla was równie wartościowa co dla mnie.
December 23, 2019
When Animals Speak by Eva Meijer is an extremely important academic contribution to animal studies and to the world at large. With an astute examination and interpretation of a vast amount of literature, case studies, experiments, philosophy, and other means, Meijer takes our current conceptions of others animals' abilities to communicate, behave, organize, and act to a new and very necessary level. I read a lot of books centering other animals from the more popular and political side to the very academic and scientific sides and thus, am sometimes underwhelmed by newer books on these subjects. This one, however, brought a lot of new information into my psyche and has had me thinking hard about the topics therein ever since. While I am sure she is not the only person to come up with these ideas and conclusions, as she includes the words and citations of many others, she definitely collects quite a lot of information into one place.
Due to it's academic nature, this book can be really repetitive at times. It seems to be written with the intention that someone could possibly read one chapter alone and out of context from the rest. This is not unusual in academia, but since I read it cover to cover, I often found the same things said repeatedly which could get tedious. That said, it is very well structured and organized. We always know where Meijer is going before she tackles the details and she always summarizes where she ended up.
One of the features of this book that really stood out for me was Meijer's discussions of anthropomorphism. The idea of anthropomorphism is misused by people who cannot bear the idea than other animals are more than objects for their exploitation and is a frequent rallying cry of those with a direct relationship to nonhuman animal exploitation. Some animal researchers, for instance, will often claim that any attribution of emotion, suffering, cognition, communication abilities, etc to their research captives is the dreaded anthropomorphism phenomenon and that this somehow makes what they do to animals excusable. These same people are happy to discuss the ways other animals are similar to us when it fits their occupation and hypothesis, but that quickly goes out the window when their abuse of power is taken into consideration. Meijer uses the concept of anthropormorphism as a vehicle to actually center other animals rather than to erase them. She stresses the importance that we not assume other animals are like us in every way, nor should we assume that they are all like each other. Expanding on this point, she discourages thinking that forces other animals into a human box in order to grant them consideration. Instead, differences within and between species should be acknowledged and centered in order to improve our relationships with other animals. Other animals should not have to be "like us" in order to deserve appropriate treatment and consideration. I hate to say that this is one of the first times I have seen someone discuss it in this way.
The central topic of the book, evident in the title, is that of communication and interaction with and between other animals. I began this book believing other animals had sophisticated communication, but had always heard- even other animal advocates- claim that none of them had actual language. This always seemed unlikely to me, but since I am not a linguist I figured that maybe there are many rules for something to be considered a language and that perhaps I just did not understand that. Meijer includes a lot of literature and research that is showing that other animals do indeed have structured communication that can be called language and the problem is that we are not sophisticated enough to understand it. There are well-known instances of animals learning human language (Koko the gorilla, Alex the parrot, etc) and vice versa (Jane Goodall,) but I did not realize that there was so much new research showing language being present in other species. I also felt challenged in the best ways by how far these observations went. Meijer includes studies of nonhuman primates and birds (which many people are accepting have advanced cognitive abilities,) but also addressed the abilities of other animals like bees and even worms who people as far back as Darwin have observed the ability to learn and work together in.
Reading this book helped me realize how stuck in the past a lot of my thinking about animals was. One of the more interested ways this happened was how Meijer discussed ways that other animals can be political actors in that they can take intentional actions that influence policy and actions of humans. She included the works of Jason Hribal, Aph and Syl Ko, Sunaura Taylor, and other favorites of mine and then expands upon the wisdom they have offered. She encourages us to uproot many of the ways we interact with and think about other animals. Even in animal rights and liberation communities, there is a huge problem with the unacknowledged power dynamics between humans and other animals. This can even be reinforced in harmful ways through rescue efforts in which people see themselves as saviors of the animals rather than as people working in solidarity with them. For example, the phenomenon of a stray dog being taken off the street, only to die, "unadoptable" in a shelter when s/he was actually content with the struggles of the street. We must redefine our relationship with other animals from one in which we "save" them and they are one-dimensional, innocent, voiceless beings into one in which they are seen as complex beings with varying needs and desires like us.
Meijer encourages us to not only better communicate with other animals, but to use what she calls "interspecies deliberation" to negotiate relationships that work best for everyone involved. She encourages solutions that serve both humans and other animals best rather than those which only favor one group's needs and interests. Her main point is that we are going to have interactions and relationships with other animals no matter what. As a result, positive and mutually rewarding relationships will develop and also conflicts will arise that need to be resolved. Meijer encourages cooperative actions with other animals in ways that benefit both the humans and other animals. She uses a variety of means to offer ways how we can do this, but it of course will never be easy.
Overall, I really appreciate the knowledge this book gave me and I will continue thinking about it and hopefully implementing it in my life and relationships with other animals. I definitely think anyone could benefit from the information in this book, but I think it should be critical reading for those who have intimate or frequent interactions with other animals.
This was also posted to my blog.
Due to it's academic nature, this book can be really repetitive at times. It seems to be written with the intention that someone could possibly read one chapter alone and out of context from the rest. This is not unusual in academia, but since I read it cover to cover, I often found the same things said repeatedly which could get tedious. That said, it is very well structured and organized. We always know where Meijer is going before she tackles the details and she always summarizes where she ended up.
One of the features of this book that really stood out for me was Meijer's discussions of anthropomorphism. The idea of anthropomorphism is misused by people who cannot bear the idea than other animals are more than objects for their exploitation and is a frequent rallying cry of those with a direct relationship to nonhuman animal exploitation. Some animal researchers, for instance, will often claim that any attribution of emotion, suffering, cognition, communication abilities, etc to their research captives is the dreaded anthropomorphism phenomenon and that this somehow makes what they do to animals excusable. These same people are happy to discuss the ways other animals are similar to us when it fits their occupation and hypothesis, but that quickly goes out the window when their abuse of power is taken into consideration. Meijer uses the concept of anthropormorphism as a vehicle to actually center other animals rather than to erase them. She stresses the importance that we not assume other animals are like us in every way, nor should we assume that they are all like each other. Expanding on this point, she discourages thinking that forces other animals into a human box in order to grant them consideration. Instead, differences within and between species should be acknowledged and centered in order to improve our relationships with other animals. Other animals should not have to be "like us" in order to deserve appropriate treatment and consideration. I hate to say that this is one of the first times I have seen someone discuss it in this way.
The central topic of the book, evident in the title, is that of communication and interaction with and between other animals. I began this book believing other animals had sophisticated communication, but had always heard- even other animal advocates- claim that none of them had actual language. This always seemed unlikely to me, but since I am not a linguist I figured that maybe there are many rules for something to be considered a language and that perhaps I just did not understand that. Meijer includes a lot of literature and research that is showing that other animals do indeed have structured communication that can be called language and the problem is that we are not sophisticated enough to understand it. There are well-known instances of animals learning human language (Koko the gorilla, Alex the parrot, etc) and vice versa (Jane Goodall,) but I did not realize that there was so much new research showing language being present in other species. I also felt challenged in the best ways by how far these observations went. Meijer includes studies of nonhuman primates and birds (which many people are accepting have advanced cognitive abilities,) but also addressed the abilities of other animals like bees and even worms who people as far back as Darwin have observed the ability to learn and work together in.
Reading this book helped me realize how stuck in the past a lot of my thinking about animals was. One of the more interested ways this happened was how Meijer discussed ways that other animals can be political actors in that they can take intentional actions that influence policy and actions of humans. She included the works of Jason Hribal, Aph and Syl Ko, Sunaura Taylor, and other favorites of mine and then expands upon the wisdom they have offered. She encourages us to uproot many of the ways we interact with and think about other animals. Even in animal rights and liberation communities, there is a huge problem with the unacknowledged power dynamics between humans and other animals. This can even be reinforced in harmful ways through rescue efforts in which people see themselves as saviors of the animals rather than as people working in solidarity with them. For example, the phenomenon of a stray dog being taken off the street, only to die, "unadoptable" in a shelter when s/he was actually content with the struggles of the street. We must redefine our relationship with other animals from one in which we "save" them and they are one-dimensional, innocent, voiceless beings into one in which they are seen as complex beings with varying needs and desires like us.
Meijer encourages us to not only better communicate with other animals, but to use what she calls "interspecies deliberation" to negotiate relationships that work best for everyone involved. She encourages solutions that serve both humans and other animals best rather than those which only favor one group's needs and interests. Her main point is that we are going to have interactions and relationships with other animals no matter what. As a result, positive and mutually rewarding relationships will develop and also conflicts will arise that need to be resolved. Meijer encourages cooperative actions with other animals in ways that benefit both the humans and other animals. She uses a variety of means to offer ways how we can do this, but it of course will never be easy.
Overall, I really appreciate the knowledge this book gave me and I will continue thinking about it and hopefully implementing it in my life and relationships with other animals. I definitely think anyone could benefit from the information in this book, but I think it should be critical reading for those who have intimate or frequent interactions with other animals.
This was also posted to my blog.
January 21, 2022
This is a very valuable book which at the same time is pretty hard to digest, especially for someone who did not have much contact with similar theories. Why? Because the animal-human/instinct-reason pairs are very much ingrained in our modes of thinking. Meijer does a good, thorough job of changing those concepts and presenting possible means and ways of giving back animals their agency and voice.
Some tolerance for the academic style of writing is also a plus.
Some tolerance for the academic style of writing is also a plus.
October 13, 2020
Of course animals speak!” says Eva Meijir, in her thrilling new book When Animals Speak: Toward an Interspecies Democracy.
According to the philosophical tradition since the time of Descartes, however, animals were not granted with language, which also meant they did not have minds or souls. Modern philosophy posited two distinct substances in the world: bodies, which obey the laws of physics and are mechanistic; and minds, which are non-physical and eternal. The soul-less bodies of animals were viewed as being only capable of mechanical responses to impulses. Incapable of feeling pain, unable to communicate in language or granted with reason, they have been viewed as object resources. Hence the term Bête machine.
More here https://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...
According to the philosophical tradition since the time of Descartes, however, animals were not granted with language, which also meant they did not have minds or souls. Modern philosophy posited two distinct substances in the world: bodies, which obey the laws of physics and are mechanistic; and minds, which are non-physical and eternal. The soul-less bodies of animals were viewed as being only capable of mechanical responses to impulses. Incapable of feeling pain, unable to communicate in language or granted with reason, they have been viewed as object resources. Hence the term Bête machine.
More here https://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...
Read
January 28, 2021One of the most insightful books about other animals that I've ever read, and also one I keep coming back to, and from which so many new, interesting research questions can appear.
Definitely recommended to anyone interested in human-animal relationships, anti-speciesism, democracy, and the philosophy of language.
"Non-human animals do speak and exercise political agency, but they cannot usually influence matters that concern their lives directly because the framework within which they act has been constructed to exclude them. This exclusion has an institutional and an epistemic dimension: other animals are not just formally excluded from political and legal structures; they are effectively silenced, because their perspectives and forms of knowledge are not considered valuable within the dominant system of knowledge."
Definitely recommended to anyone interested in human-animal relationships, anti-speciesism, democracy, and the philosophy of language.
"Non-human animals do speak and exercise political agency, but they cannot usually influence matters that concern their lives directly because the framework within which they act has been constructed to exclude them. This exclusion has an institutional and an epistemic dimension: other animals are not just formally excluded from political and legal structures; they are effectively silenced, because their perspectives and forms of knowledge are not considered valuable within the dominant system of knowledge."
June 5, 2020
I loved the topic and the ideas presented, but it was a bit too theoretical and academic of a read for me.
December 28, 2020
Must read for every animal advocate - and for everyone who isn't yet.
April 14, 2021
A mixed bag.
Read
December 14, 2024Odświeżające - elokwentne i pełne empatii - spojrzenie na prawa zwierząt. Bardzo dobrze mi się łączy z Jak stworzyć wegański świat i Bydlęcym brzemieniem, które czytałam wcześniej. Mam nadzieję, że dożyję reform w duchu proponowanych przez autorkę
January 11, 2022
I denna bok finner man viktig kunskap om djurens kommunikation, hur den ser ut och fungerar. Otroligt intressant läsning som vidgar synen på djuren och deras inre livsvärld. Innehållet är vetenskapligt formulerat vilket inte är ett problem så länge man är bekant och bekväm med att läsa forskningsbaserade texter. Om man är obekant med ett sådant format kan nog boken uppfattas en smula torr. Något rörig i dispositionen och stundtals något repetitiv.
Klart värd att läsa i kunskapsutvidgande syfte!
Klart värd att läsa i kunskapsutvidgande syfte!
December 27, 2019
This is an important book in our changing world. We have to learn to look at things differently, and this book is a step in the direction of how we think of non-human animals and how we should be less anthropocentric. What we really need to consider beyond the rights of animals is the rights of nature.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews