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The Boundaries of Human Nature: The Philosophical Animal from Plato to Haraway
Are animals capable of wonder? Can they be said to possess language and reason? What can animals teach us about how to live well? How can they help us to see the limitations of human civilization? Is it possible to draw firm distinctions between humans and animals? And how might asking and answering questions like these lead us to rethink human-animal relations in an age of catastrophic ecological destruction?
In this accessible and engaging book, Matthew Calarco explores key issues in the philosophy of animals and their significance for our contemporary world. He leads readers on a spirited tour of historical and contemporary philosophy, ranging from Plato to Donna Haraway and from the Cynics to the Jains. Calarco unearths surprising insights about animals from a number of philosophers while also underscoring ways in which the philosophical tradition has failed to challenge the dogma of human-centeredness. Along the way, he indicates how mainstream Western philosophy is both complemented and challenged by non-Western traditions and noncanonical theories about animals. Throughout, Calarco uses examples from contemporary culture to illustrate how philosophical theories about animals are deeply relevant to our lives today. The Boundaries of Human Nature shows readers why philosophy can help transform not just the way we think about animals but also how we interact with them.
In this accessible and engaging book, Matthew Calarco explores key issues in the philosophy of animals and their significance for our contemporary world. He leads readers on a spirited tour of historical and contemporary philosophy, ranging from Plato to Donna Haraway and from the Cynics to the Jains. Calarco unearths surprising insights about animals from a number of philosophers while also underscoring ways in which the philosophical tradition has failed to challenge the dogma of human-centeredness. Along the way, he indicates how mainstream Western philosophy is both complemented and challenged by non-Western traditions and noncanonical theories about animals. Throughout, Calarco uses examples from contemporary culture to illustrate how philosophical theories about animals are deeply relevant to our lives today. The Boundaries of Human Nature shows readers why philosophy can help transform not just the way we think about animals but also how we interact with them.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
184 pages, Paperback
Published December 28, 2021
27 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Calarco
18 books8 followersMatthew Calarco is Associate Professor of Philosophy at California State University Fullerton, USA.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 28, 2025
Key takeaways:
- One of the subjects of the book is how animals perceive suffering and death; there are animals that are aware of both.
- Parallels are drawn between the abuse humans inflict on animals and the abuse humans inflict on each other, especially on women or minorities; abuse always stems from a distortion of the victim and their degradation in the eyes of the abuser to the status of a sub-human, or even an animal.
- The question is raised whether the killing of animals is still necessary in this century, given that we can now easily obtain food from plants and mushrooms.
- Humans are always affected by an "animal bias"; we always favor certain species over others, depending on the era and culture. Today, we tend to favor pets or gentle animals, and to disfavor predatory animals.
For meat consumers, animals are just walking chunks of meat whose sole purpose is to end up on a human's plate. But in the wild, from the animals’ perspective, humans are just the same—chunks of meat, a good resource to consume—and they don't see us as anything special, contrary to what we might like to believe.
- One of the subjects of the book is how animals perceive suffering and death; there are animals that are aware of both.
- Parallels are drawn between the abuse humans inflict on animals and the abuse humans inflict on each other, especially on women or minorities; abuse always stems from a distortion of the victim and their degradation in the eyes of the abuser to the status of a sub-human, or even an animal.
- The question is raised whether the killing of animals is still necessary in this century, given that we can now easily obtain food from plants and mushrooms.
- Humans are always affected by an "animal bias"; we always favor certain species over others, depending on the era and culture. Today, we tend to favor pets or gentle animals, and to disfavor predatory animals.
For meat consumers, animals are just walking chunks of meat whose sole purpose is to end up on a human's plate. But in the wild, from the animals’ perspective, humans are just the same—chunks of meat, a good resource to consume—and they don't see us as anything special, contrary to what we might like to believe.
Displaying 1 of 1 review