How to Talk to a Cat

Name: How to Talk to a Cat
Price: 185 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9780253075765

Buber, Philosophy, and Dialogue with Unspeaking Things

Dustin N. Atlas

$185

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Indiana University Press
31 March 2026

Philosophy; Phenomenology & Existentialism; Philosophy of religion; Jewish studies; Cats as pets

Series: New Jewish Philosophy and Thought

Guided by the philosophical insights of Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, How to Talk to a Cat explores the possibility of dialogue beyond the boundaries of spoken language. Original and effective in its interdisciplinary scope, this book ventures into the complexities of engaging in meaningful dialogue with creatures that do not use verbal communication, focusing on unspeaking beings we encounter in the domestic sphere: cats, babies, plants, and tools, among others.

Author Dustin N. Atlas distinguishes between talking to entities in a direct, second-person dialogue, talking about them in a third-person analytical mode, and focusing on how the former is possible in the absence of speech. While many discussions of Buber's philosophy have focused on the I-You relationship, How to Talk to a Cat emphasizes the dynamic processes of dialogue that take place over time where attention, rather than presence, is central. Raising questions about the nature of understanding, cohabitation, and the possibility of connection across different beings, Atlas encourages readers to look more closely at their present life, to reconsider the scope of dialogue and extend it beyond the human to include the silent relationships we share with the world around us.

Bringing Jewish thought into conversation with contemporary philosophy, ethology, animal studies, and critical theory, How to Talk to a Cat challenges prevailing assumptions about the limitations of dialogue and expands on the nature of understanding, cohabitation, and the possibility of connection across types of beings.

By: Dustin N. Atlas
Imprint: Indiana University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9780253075765
ISBN 10: 0253075769
Series: New Jewish Philosophy and Thought
Pages: 172
Publication Date: 31 March 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Dustin N. Atlas is Director of Jewish Studies and Associate Professor in the School of Religion at Queen's University. He specializes in contemporary Jewish thought and aesthetics, especially works that concern imperfection, gossip, and non-human creatures.