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Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life Hardcover – November 24, 2020

4.4 out of 5 stars 964

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"On the face of it, “Feline Philosophy” would seem like a departure for Gray ― a playful exploration of what cats might have to teach humans in our never-ending quest to understand ourselves. But the book, in true Gray fashion, suggests that this very quest may itself be doomed . . . Gray has always been a shrewd critic, nimbly dismantling high-minded schemes and their unintended consequences."
―Jennifer Szalai, New York Times

"A short but serious polemic attacking much of the western tradition of moral thought. It’s worth a read even if ― perhaps especially if ― you hate cats."
―Robert Armstrong, The Financial Times

"Academia puts scholars through the wringer. Few ― very few, in fact ― come out willing or even able to express complex ideas in ways appealing to non-academics. John Gray is one of those rare intellectuals . . .
Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life is broadly appealing. Even more impressive, it has readers seriously consider radical ideas . . . Intertwining stories and facts about cats with philosophy, Gray invites serious reflection without telling readers how to reason or what to think . . . The real joy of Feline Philosophy comes from the very experience of reading it. The book does not attempt to 'prove' anything."
―Paul J. D’Ambrosio, Los Angeles Review of Books

"This new account of what cats can teach us about how to live corresponds closely with what the philosopher John Gray has been teaching us about how to live life for the past few decades. Although his previous works contain occasional hints about what he considers to be the good life, this is the most direct pounce at the subject. If, like me, you consider him to be one of the most important thinkers alive, you will be eager to know what he has to say. . . In our pious age his attack on the cheap solace of moral convictions is invigorating."
―James Marriott, The Times

"Cat lovers will enjoy the celebration of feline mythos, from the cat gods of ancient Egypt to purring contemporary domestics, while hardcore Gray fans will be reassured by the usual reference to immortality cults, Hobbes, gulags and so on."
―Charles Arrowsmith, The Washington Post

“The intellectual cat’s pyjamas . . . Gray’s is the perfect book for the estranging oddness of the pandemic.”
―Tim Adams, The Observer

“Engaging, amusing, perceptive and untimely, in the most admirable Nietzschean sense.”
―Mark Rowlands, New Statesman

"Curious and exploratory . . . Gray moves freely among writing modes, including several of the potted biographies that are common to popular works of philosophy. But he also tells stories of famous cats, dabbling in evolutionary history and showing a clear appreciation for his subject. Above all, the book is an ode to cats, and Gray gives the impression of having learned from them how to take pleasure where he finds it."
Kirkus

“A wonderful mixture of flippancy and profundity, astringency and tenderness, wit and lament.”
―Jane O’Grady, The Telegraph

“Gray offers well-timed scratches at tender bits of the human psyche and sinks some sharp teeth into a few of our most cherished self-conceptions.”
―Ian Ground, Times Literary Supplement

“Silly, playful . . . as enlightening as it is delightful.”
―John Banville, Irish Times

“Magnificent.”
―Kathryn Hughes, Literary Review

"Gray's work makes a strong case that our species is incorrigibly irrational, and it raises questions about humanist beliefs that should be particularly important for those of us on the political left to consider...Gray pursues the deep interest in the nonhuman world that makes his critique of humanism so shard in fang and claw."
―Oliver Hall, Dangerous Minds

"For philosophers and philosophical cat lovers. Lots of endnotes for further discovery."
Booklist

"The book does not attempt to 'prove' anything. Gray has survived the wringer and now expertly plays with his philosophical reflections."
―Paul J. D'Ambrosio, LA Review of Books

"The bulk of Gray's fantastic book does not concern cats . . . Gray focuses on humanity's insatiable (and predominantly fruitless) attempts at happiness and our inability to reckon with the illusion of morality. . . His ten feline commandments are ultimately for us."
―Derek Beres, Big Think

About the Author

John Gray is the author of many critically acclaimed books, including The Silence of Animals, The Immortalization Commission, Black Mass,and Straw Dogs. A regular contributor to The New York Review of Books, he has been a professor of politics at Oxford, a visiting professor at Harvard and Yale, and a professor of European thought at the London School of Economics. He now writes full-time.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition (November 24, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374154112
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374154110
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.66 x 8.55 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 964

About the author

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John Gray
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JOHN GRAY is Emeritus Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian and the Times Literary Supplement and the author of over a dozen books, including Heresies and the bestselling Straw Dogs. False Dawn has been translated into sixteen languages.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
964 global ratings
Great for New Year's Resolutions!
5 Stars
Great for New Year's Resolutions!
Apply one of the 10 Feline Hints on How to Live Well from John Gray's "Feline Philosophy: Cats and The Meaning of Life" to your life.Other bites of catnip from the book:🐾 “If cats could look back on their lives, might they wish they had never lived? It is hard to think so. Not making stories of their lives, they cannot think of them as tragic or wish they had never been born. They accept life as a gift. Humans are different. Unlike any other animal, they are ready to die for their beliefs. Monotheists and rationalists regard this as a mark of our superiority. It shows we live for the sake of ideas, not just instinctual satisfaction. But if humans are unique in dying for ideas, they are also alone in killing for them. Killing and dying for nonsensical ideas is how many human beings have made sense of their lives.”🐾“The inner life of humans is episodic, fuzzy, disjointed and at times chaotic...We pass through our lives fragmented and disconnected, appearing and reappearing like ghosts, while cats that have no self are always themselves.”🐾 "If you cannot learn to live a little more like a cat, return without regret to the human world of diversion…If you cannot find a faith that suits you, lose yourself in common life. The excitement and disappointments of romantic love, the pursuit of money and ambition, the charades of politics and the clamour of the news will soon banish any sense of emptiness.”LOVED THIS ONE.
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2023
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5.0 out of 5 stars Great for New Year's Resolutions!
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2023
Apply one of the 10 Feline Hints on How to Live Well from John Gray's "Feline Philosophy: Cats and The Meaning of Life" to your life.

Other bites of catnip from the book:
🐾 “If cats could look back on their lives, might they wish they had never lived? It is hard to think so. Not making stories of their lives, they cannot think of them as tragic or wish they had never been born. They accept life as a gift. Humans are different. Unlike any other animal, they are ready to die for their beliefs. Monotheists and rationalists regard this as a mark of our superiority. It shows we live for the sake of ideas, not just instinctual satisfaction. But if humans are unique in dying for ideas, they are also alone in killing for them. Killing and dying for nonsensical ideas is how many human beings have made sense of their lives.”
🐾“The inner life of humans is episodic, fuzzy, disjointed and at times chaotic...We pass through our lives fragmented and disconnected, appearing and reappearing like ghosts, while cats that have no self are always themselves.”
🐾 "If you cannot learn to live a little more like a cat, return without regret to the human world of diversion…If you cannot find a faith that suits you, lose yourself in common life. The excitement and disappointments of romantic love, the pursuit of money and ambition, the charades of politics and the clamour of the news will soon banish any sense of emptiness.”

LOVED THIS ONE.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ernesto B.
5.0 out of 5 stars alta calidad
Reviewed in Mexico on January 28, 2024
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in Canada on January 5, 2024
Ingrid Dick de Paula
5.0 out of 5 stars NA
Reviewed in Brazil on November 24, 2021
One person found this helpful
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Mr O Cogswell
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2024
MaryS
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in India on January 7, 2024