Animals as Experiencing Entities

“In an era when the collective human footprint threatens not only the future of other species, but our own, we need a radical reassessment of our place in the pantheon of life. Specifically, we need a rebuke of anthropocentrism. This book— with contributions from a variety of academic disciplines—delivers.” —Jonathan Balcombe, author of What a Fish Knows and Super Fly “Science clearly shows that numerous nonhuman animals are sentient, feeling beings who care about their own well-being and quality of life along with that of their family and friends. For decades we’ve known that animals’ inner lives are complex, rich, and deep, and this book makes the inarguable case that it’s high time to use what we know on their behalf.” —Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals This volume explores the experiences of those with little or no power—usually, although not exclusively, animals. The theme of animals as experiencing entities is what links the chapters and characterises the volume. Broadly each author in this volume contributes in one of two ways. The first group, in Section 1, theoretically engages animal subjectivity, animal experiences, and ways in which these are to some extent accessible and knowable to humans. The second group of authors, in Section 2, offer narrative accounts about specific animals or groups of animals and explore to some extent their subjective historical experiences. In summary, the first section diversely theorises about animal experiences, while the second section’s authors assume animals’ subjective experiences and construct narratives that take into account how animals might have subjectively experienced historical phenomena. Michael Glover is an Associate Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and a member of the Australasian Animal Studies Association. Les Mitchell is a Research Fellow at the International Studies Group, University of the Free State. He is also a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.