When Animals Dream

The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness

David M. Peña-Guzmán

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English

Princeton University Pres
01 January 2024

Ethics & moral philosophy; Mathematics & Sciences

A spellbinding look at the philosophical and moral implications of animal dreaming.

Are humans the only dreamers on Earth? What goes on in the minds of animals when they sleep? When Animals Dream brings together behavioural and neuroscientific research on animal sleep with philosophical theories of dreaming. It shows that dreams provide an invaluable window into the cognitive and emotional lives of nonhuman animals, giving us access to a seemingly inaccessible realm of animal experience.

David Peña-Guzmán uncovers evidence of animal dreaming throughout the scientific literature, suggesting that many animals run “reality simulations” while asleep, with a dream-ego moving through a dynamic and coherent dreamscape. He builds a convincing case for animals as conscious beings and examines the thorny scientific, philosophical, and ethical questions it raises. Once we accept that animals dream, we incur a host of moral obligations and have no choice but to rethink our views about who animals are and the interior lives they lead.

A mesmerising journey into the otherworldly domain of nonhuman consciousness, When Animals Dream carries profound implications for contemporary debates about animal cognition, animal ethics, and animal rights, challenging us to regard animals as beings who matter, and for whom things matter.

'When Animals Dream ranges from fascinating to thrilling. A very accessible, penetrating, thought-provoking book that makes us see other-than-human minds in a whole new light.' — Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel and Becoming Wild

'Octopuses dream. Rats suffer nightmares. Chimps trained in sign language ‘talk’ in their sleep. This revelatory book shows us that animals’ minds, like ours, are gloriously nimble, vivid, and complex, even during sleep. This is thrilling, essential reading for all of us seeking to expand our understanding of the wonder of consciousness.' — Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness

By: David M. Peña-Guzmán
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 133mm,
ISBN: 9780691227061
ISBN 10: 0691227063
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 01 January 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

David M. Peña-Guzmán is associate professor of humanities at San Francisco State University. He specializes in animal studies, theories of consciousness, the history and philosophy of science, and contemporary European philosophy. He is coauthor of Chimpanzee Rights: The Philosophers’ Brief and cohost of the popular Overthink podcast.

Reviews for When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness

Winner of the PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers I can recommend [this book] to anyone who cares about animals. ---Barbara J. King, Times Literary Supplement An intellectual tour de force . . . . this book will change minds. ---Simon Ings, New Scientist [An] intriguing book. . . . Scientists have always speculated about the inner worlds of animals; Pena-Guzman offers a novel, and poetic, way in. ---Camille Bromley, The Atlantic Amiable, lucid, and concise. . . . Pena-Guzman addresses his own conjectures with a winning frankness. ---Laura Miller, Slate When Animals Dream is a fascinating, challenging, and thought-provoking book that gives human exceptionalism a philosophically-grounded middle finger. ---Leon Vlieger, Inquisitive Biologist