The Philosophical Animal

On Zoopoetics and Interspecies Cosmopolitanism

Eduardo Mendieta

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English

State University of New York Press
01 June 2024

Phenomenology & Existentialism; Deconstructionism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism; Ethics & moral philosophy; Political science & theory; Wildlife: general interest

Series: SUNY Press Open Access

Argues that humans are animals that philosophize about their condition by fictionalizing other animals.

Humans are animals who fictionalize other animals to asse their ""humanness."" We are philosophical animals who philosophize about our humanity by projecting images onto a mirror about other animals. Spanning literature, philosophy, and ethics, the thread uniting The Philosophical Animal is the bestiary and how it continues to inform our imaginings. Beginning with an exploration of animals and women in the literary work of Coetzee, famous for his book on the Lives of Animals, Eduardo Mendieta then dives into the genre of bestiaries in order to investigate the relation between humanity and animality. From there he approaches the works of Derrida and Habermas from the standpoint of genetic engineering and animal studies. While we have intensely modified many species genetically, we have not done this to ourselves. Why? Finally, Mendieta deals with the political and ethical implications suggested by this question before ending on an autobiographical note about growing up around so-called animals, and in particular horses.

This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem)-a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries-and the generous support of Penn State. Learn more at the TOME website, available at https://openmonographs.org.

By: Eduardo Mendieta
Imprint: State University of New York Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 445g
ISBN: 9781438498096
ISBN 10: 1438498098
Series: SUNY Press Open Access
Pages: 266
Publication Date: 01 June 2024
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: The Poetic Species I. Ceasing to Be Animal 1. Zoopoetics: Coetzee's Animals and Philosophy 2. Political Bestiary: On the Uses of Violence 3. Heidegger's Bestiary: The Speechless and Unhistorical Animal II. Not Yet Human 4. Habermas on Human Cloning: The Debate on the Future of the Species 5. Communicative Freedom and Genetic Engineering 6. We Have Never Been Human, or How We Lost Our Humanity: From Habermas and Derrida to Midgley and Haraway by Way of Agamben III. Toward a Companion Species Ethics 7. Animal Is to Kantianism As Jew Is to Fascism: Adorno's Bestiary 8. Interspecies Cosmopolitanism 9. Bestiaries of Extinction: Anthropodicy or Anthropohippology Notes Index

Eduardo Mendieta is Professor of Philosophy and Latina/o studies at Penn State University. He is the author of several books, including Global Fragments: Globalizations, Latinamericanisms, and Critical Theory, also published by SUNY Press.

Reviews for The Philosophical Animal: On Zoopoetics and Interspecies Cosmopolitanism

""…The Philosophical Animal is a welcome exploration about Western philosophy's zoopoetics and its multifarious and lingering political implications. The book could not be timelier, and it will certainly interest philosophers, historians, anthropologists, advocates of animal rights, and other segments of the public."" — H-Net Reviews (H-Environment) ""This eloquent discussion brings a range of continental figures and European traditions of philosophy to bear on the question of the animal. From Habermas to Derrida, and all that lies between, Mendieta's discussion is unique and thought-provoking."" — Cynthia Willett, author of Interspecies Ethics