Philosophy and Animal Life

ISBN-13: 9780231145145 / Angielski / Twarda / 2008 / 184 str.

S Cavell

Opis

Philosophy and Animal Life offers a new way of thinking about animal rights, our obligation to animals, and the nature of philosophy itself. Cora Diamond begins with "The Difficulty of Reality and the Difficulty of Philosophy," in which she accuses analytical philosophy of evading, or deflecting, the responsibility of human beings toward nonhuman animals. Diamond then explores the animal question as it is bound up with the more general problem of philosophical skepticism. Focusing specifically on J. M. Coetzee's The Lives of Animals, she considers the failure of language to capture the vulnerability of humans and animals.

Stanley Cavell responds to Diamond's argument with his own close reading of Coetzee's work, connecting the human-animal relation to further themes of morality and philosophy. John McDowell follows with a critique of both Diamond and Cavell, and Ian Hacking explains why Cora Diamond's essay is so deeply perturbing and, paradoxically for a philosopher, he favors poetry over philosophy as a way of overcoming some of her difficulties. Cary Wolfe's introduction situates these arguments within the broader context of contemporary continental philosophy and theory, particularly Jacques Derrida's work on deconstruction and the question of the animal. Philosophy and Animal Life is a crucial collection for those interested in animal rights, ethics, and the development of philosophical inquiry. It also offers a unique exploration of the role of ethics in Coetzee's fiction.

Spis treści

Introduction Exposures. Cary Wolfe. The Difficulty of Reality and the Difficulty of Philosophy. Cora Diamond. Companionable Thinking. Stanley Cavell. Comment on Stanley Cavell's ``Companionable Thinking''

O autorze

John McDowell ist Professor für Philosophie an der Universität von Pittsburgh. Stanley Cavell, geboren 1926, gilt als einer der interessantesten Philosophen Amerikas. Er war von 1963-1997 Professor für Ästhetik und allgemeine Werttheorie an der Harvard University und Präsident der American Philosophical Association. Er ist Ehrendoktor der Hebrew University, Jerusalem sowie der Universität Strasbourg.