Customer Reviews

The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy - and Why They Matter

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an excellent book, and I don't disagree with anything he says. However, he makes much of his case based on anecdotal evidence. He does cite scientific studies, but these are peripheral to the stories. I don't really mind this because I agreed with him before I ever started reading the book, and I enjoyed the stories. If he's looking to persuade people, which I think he should, he might have gone a little heavier on the science and a little lighter on the stories.

Regardless of whether he has proven his case about the emotions of animals, his book gives us one pivotal concept we can rely on: if we don't know for sure, the default assumption should be that animals do have emotions until proven otherwise. To paraphrase: If I assume animals feel pain and pleasure and love, and act accordingly, and then it turns out my assumption was wrong, I will have done no harm. However, if I assume that animals don't have feelings, and then it turns out I was wrong, I may have caused immeasurable damage.

Do no harm is the essence of this book. It provides colorful insight into the real emotional lives of various animals. The author used a wide variety of sources, & field observations from wildlife biologists. The section on neurobiology were the most interesting for me. The fact that animals share several of our neural structures for emotion came as no surprise to this lay person. I have always felt {& have been bashed plenty for it}, that animals often represent the better half of human nature that we sometimes submerge. Dogs, Reptiles, Monkeys, Rats, Moon Bears, Whales & Elephants are all here. The latter are probably the most fascinating creatures in the book? The authors advocacy for animals was very refreshing to this animal lover. His basic thesis gives us a crucial point, "that if we are not certain about an animals emotions, we should presume that they often feel exactly what we humans do." For that compassionate view I had to up my four star impression to a hearty five.

Marc Bekoff's The Emotional Lives of Animals is a wonderful book. I was impressed by the scope and depth of the research underlying the book, and by the way that Bekoff makes scientific data interesting and accessible to a general readership. The writing is lively; Bekoff weaves together stories of animal emotions with scientific data supporting his ideas about animal empathy, fairness, grief, pleasure, joy, and sadness. And his thesis is hardhitting: If animals do indeed live the rich emotional lives that Bekoff describes--and we have every reason to believe they do--then we may, by force of logic, be led to reconsider our moral obligations to them. Bekoff is obviously passionate about his subjects, but never does his writing sound strident. Instead, he uses humor and grace to navigate the controversial terrain of animal welfare.

Marc Bekoff gives us a scientific view of the novel science of animal's emotions. People who know animals see feelings and it is not just through anthropomorphic thought, but facts on how animals react. This book shows through science we have similar neural systems. Darwin is quoted " that there is no fundamental difference between man and the higher animals in their mental faculties. We all evolved from similar animals" - who express human characteristics such as jealousy, hatred, or love. ... Current cutting edge research agrees with Darwin's observations and ideas. Dogs and other animals share with humans some of the same brain structures and some of the same neurochemicals that form the basis for such emotions as joy.

Anyone who works closely with animals or has pets know they show pleasure, pain, joy, play, sulk and other emotions. That is how we bond together and they recognize our feelings as well. They are not automatons with robotic reactions, animals have personality and surprise us in many ways. Stories within the book show how animals care about humans as well as each other without anyone training or coaxing.

Mark Bekoff notes this is a gift we should treasure. There is a wonderful forward by Jane Goodall noting the book shows careful scientific methodology with intuition and common sense.

The book shows why animal emotions matter, how they are studied, what animals feel, including animal justice, morals, fair play and other interesting behavior. There is always uncertainty in science, however, many scientists have been hesitant to speak out about animal emotions. They no longer talk "as if" they have feelings, they acknowledge animals have them.

The point of the book is to be kind to animals and how personal choices affect them. The author asks us to treat animals with compassion and ask if you would do this (cruel behavior) to your dog or cat? He asks that scientists come "out of the closet" and with courage acknowledge what they know about animals.

This is a wonderful book and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you want to read just one book which provides insight into the complex emotional lives of animals this is it. Dr. Bekoff draws from a wide array of sources, including personal anecdotes from animal lovers and field observations from wildlife biologists, to arguments about Darwinian evolution and continuity, to the latest discoveries in neurobiology which demonstrate that animals share many of our same neural structures for emotion. The wonderful stories about grief, joy, awe, humor and other emotions in a variety of animals, including rats, dogs, elephants, whales, macaws, chimpanzees, monkeys, and moon bears will make you smile and cry.

Dr. Bekoff, however, doesn't stop at simply making the case for animal emotions but goes beyond to argue that given our understanding of the rich emotional lives of animals that we have an ethical obligation to treat our fellow animals with compassion and respect and he discusses current abuses including factory farms, medical research, and zoos. As someone who has worked on animal welfare issues and is interested in animal behavior, it's Dr. Bekoff's advocacy for animals that I find most inspiring for he is one of those rare scientists who argue that what we know imposes an ethical obligation to act. Although many scientists now accept that animals have rich emotional lives, Dr. Bekoff has been at the forefront of the movement arguing--as a scientist--for the complex emotional lives of animals. His willingness to take on the skeptics and see his fellow animals as being the rich, emotional, complex beings that they are is an inspiration to us non-scientists who work with and care for animals. Dr. Bekoff has drawn on his research as an ethologist and biologist over the years to make the case for animal emotions and he has been at the forefront of arguing for ethical treatment of animals. I have read several of his other books and am thrilled with this new book, which is one of his best.

Marc Bekoff has rattled more than a few cages in his long career as a cognitive ethologist, but that does not make what he has to say any less true. This book summarizes the case for recognizing the similarities we share with our non-human mammalian companions, and it does so with flair, as well as attention to scientific detail.

For scientists or simply science buffs, this book has plenty to satisfy, but it's not just for them. This book is more for the average American who has always sensed the truths of non-human emotional lives (or maybe even has not), but is curious about the science behind the facts.

I have long been fond of saying "a mammalian brain is a mammalian brain is a mammalian brain, whether it belongs to you, your cat or my horse." Marc Bekoff makes this same statement with much more clarity and deeper understanding.

This book should leave you with a greater respect for the lives of the non-humans we share this planet with, and a deeper understanding of the ways our experiences here are the same, rather than focusing on what's different. It turns out the similarities are greater than the differences!

But all the science aside, this is also a book filled with great stories of observations of scientists and laypeople alike that back up the studies. Stories like the one told by an e-mail friend of mine, who witnessed two young mice trapped, where one helped the other to recover rather than just seeking its own salvation (I wonder if humans would have had the same level of compassion!).

This book should change your life. If it doesn't then your mind must be very closed, indeed.

This is the single best book on animal emotions I've ever read (and I've read a lot!). It's now required reading for the students in the M.Ed. program we offer at our Institute for Humane Education. The Emotional Lives of Animals is accessible to anyone, yet the science is rigorous. This book will change the way you see animals. A must-read for everyone.

Dr. Bekoff has written a book that should be read not just by ethologists , and animal lovers, this book should be mandatory reading for all human animals. I think we, humans, thumb users, with more "evolved" brains, and language must consider what Dr. Bekoff is telling us about our human species. In all our evolution we have moved beyond the important basics that our non-human animal friends hold so dear, the community. Learning about the emotions of non-human animals, and the "tribe", "herd", "pack", whatever community they are involved with, brings us face to face with not just our callous disregard for their emotions, but how we have run from ours; substituting our concern for our fellow man with our desire for materialistic belongings. Perhaps, as we deepen our understanding of non-human individuals by reading Dr. Bekoff's book we will also deepen our connection with ourselves, as well as with our individual no-human friends. Thank you Dr. Bekoff for your contribution to many fields with the writing of this book. READ IT!
Bruce Gottlieb, Psychotherapist.

This book is extraordinary in that it allows us to see the world from an entirely new and equally valid place: the mind and emotions of our fellow animals. Dr. Bekoff is unusual in his ability to convey complex information simply, and to allow us to understand the years of research behind this book. If you care at all about animals, or even are remotely curious about their lives, this book can give you a new and profound understanding of the lives going on all around us. This is a 10 if ever there was one.

Having just completed writing the wonderful story of my Regal cat which led me to an acute awareness of her array of feelings, choices, and intelligence, it was wonderful to discover Marc Bekoff's work. His book not only supports my deepened awareness about animal feelings but also took me an increased understanding of all animal emotions. His insight into animal's wide variety of feelings and behavior touched my soul. Through many observational stories by those who work with animals and through scientific study, Marc Bekoff illumines the field of animal intelligence and feeling! He also justifiably raises the issue of our ethical responsibility in caring for all animals whether they be our domestic friends, our zoo inmates, those who sadly serve in the research arena, or those who are farmed for food. They all deserve to be treated with the utmost respect, care, and regard. Truly, we can do better! With gratitude, thank you Mark Bekoff!