Two reviews of a book by Raymond Gaita's, The Philosopher's Dog. One here and the other is here. I have yet to read it. I plan to.
When I read it I will do so to see how far Gaita helps to break down the great divide between animals and human, deconstructs the view that dogs are mindless automatons and so their barking is just the sound of the cogs grinding; and recovers the view that they are organic beings with rationality and emotions.
These are not controversial views for someone who lives with dogs as part of the family (ours are standard poodles). Dogs are rational animals just like humans. But such a view is controversial for the discipline of philosophy. The problem is with the philosophy.
There is a big pathway here. It leads from the rationality of the emotions to the relationship between the emotions and morality and to animals as moral beings. The pathway has many important historical detours.
I suspect this pathway takes us away from Raymond Gaita. I cannot see him as an animal liberationist.
Yours are not STANDARD poodles. They are huge. I've seen smaller dobermans!
Posted by: Scott Wickstein on June 5, 2003 01:31 AMFor an different appreciation of the non-human inhabitants of this mostly non-human world please check out Fear No More Zoo at www.FearNoMoreZoo.org
John Forth
Posted by: John Forth on June 6, 2003 11:42 AM