Product Description

What is it really like to be a dog? Do animals experience emotions like pleasure, joy, and grief? Marc Bekoff's work draws world-wide attention for its originality and its probing into what animals think about and know as well as what they feel, what physical and mental skills they use to live successfully within their social community. Bekoff's work, whether addressed to scientists or the general public, demonstrates that investigations into animal thought, emotions, self-awareness, behavioral ecology, and conservation biology can be compassionate as well as scientifically rigorous.

In Animal Passions and Beastly Virtues, Bekoff brings together essays on his own ground-breaking research and on what scientists know about the remarkable range and flexibility of animal behavior. His fascinating and often amusing observations of dogs, wolves, coyotes, prairie dogs, elephants, and other animals playing, leaving and detecting scent-marks ("yellow snow"), solving problems, and forming friendships challenge the idea that science and the ethical treatment of animals are incompatible.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #384294 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Animal behaviorist, ecologist and ethicist Bekoff (Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior) presents a lengthy compilation of scientific papers and articles from journals like Scientific American on a range of subjects that, remarkably, coheres into a fascinating "big-picture view of animals, culture, and society." Bekoff's writings focus primarily on the science of cognitive ethology, on what animals think, feel and know—and most of the articles study the behavior of dogs; one of the most interesting pieces looks at the sounds and smells that can trigger primary emotions, such as innate fear, in canines. Overall, this collection serves as an excellent summation of the major theme of Bekoff's many books: "with hard work, we can make Earth a better place for all beings," primarily because of engaging introductory essays that connect five sections on animal emotions, social behaviors and ethics. These essays not only explain his concern for how humans "redecorate" nature by using animals for their own purposes but also achieve his goal of appealing to academic and popular audiences though his "musings" on science, social responsibility and "who we are in the grand scheme of things." (Dec.)
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Review
"Serves as an excellent summation of the major theme of Bekoff's many books....These essays not only explain his concern for how humans 'redecorate' nature by using animals for their own purposes but also achieve his goal of appealing to academic and popular audiences though his 'musings' on science, social responsibility and 'who we are in the grand scheme of things.'" —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher
An engaging, thoughtful look at the science and ethics of research into animal behavior