If You Tame Me: Understanding Our Connection with Animals

Animals, Culture, and Society

by Leslie Irvine, Marc Bekoff (Foreword)

Nearly everyone who cares about dogs or cats knows that they have a sense of self that renders them unique. Yet traditional science and philosophy declare such feelings irrational and anthropomorphic. Animals, they say, have only the crudest form of thought and no sense of self at all. Leslie Irvine's If You Tame Me challenges these entrenched views by demonstrating that our experience of animals and their behavior tell a different story. In particular, dogs and cats have been significant elements in human history and valued members of our households for centuries. Why do we regard these companions as having distinct personalities and as being irreplaceable? Irvine looks closely at how people form connections with dogs and cats available for adoption in a shelter and reflects on her own relationships with animals. If You Tame Me makes a persuasive case for the existence of a sense of self in companion animals and calls upon us to reconsider our rights and obligations regarding the non-human creatures in our lives.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

232 pages, Paperback

First published February 29, 2004

Reviews

[catalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

Me gustó, introductorio y fácil, pero me hubiera gustado que fuera más académico 😭. La autora desarrolla una idea en pocas oraciones, pone un ejemplo o evidencia que verifique lo que dice, y después no lo retoma. Es como si el ejemplo dijera por sí solo lo que ella quiere expresar cuando no es así, pero dentro de todo, un libro bueno

[Anika Tng · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an animal lover and an animal psychology/behaviour enthusiast I was truly looking forward to reading this book. But it left me disappointed, it starts out with some pretty detailed descriptions of our horrific treatment of animals in the past. I am not an advocate of sugar coating or ignoring historical facts, but details of these tortures are really not necessary, we can all picture the acts ourselves. I found the descriptions disturbing, and felt unease returning to reading the book after. I thought the author passed a lot of judgement on visitors and adopters in the Shelter, whether she meant to or not. The author left me feeling disencouraged from interacting with an adoption agency in the future or at least wary of the way people working there might see me. I have read my fair share of books on sociology, psychology and behaviour on both human and animals, I thought compared to other authors her arguments were muddled at times and she tended to alter standard word definitions to fit her ideas, rather than looking for the right words.

For anyone interested in this subject I would highly recommend reading the book "inside of a dog" by Alexandra Horowitz, instead.

[Keri]

need to get.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book about our connection with animals -- a subject dear to my heart. Do animals have a "self"? Although science is still asking this question, many dog owners know the answer.