Wild Justice, Marc Bekoff
Wild Justice, Marc Bekoff
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Wild Justice
The Moral Lives of Animals

Author: Marc Bekoff, Jessica Pierce

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 6 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/16/2010


Synopsis

Scientists have long counseled against interpreting animal behavior in terms of human emotions, warning that such anthropomorphizing limits our ability to understand animals as they really are. Yet what are we to make of a female gorilla in a German zoo who spent days mourning the death of her baby? Or a wild female elephant who cared for a younger one after she was injured by a rambunctious teenage male? Or a rat who refused to push a lever for food when he saw that doing so caused another rat to be shocked? Aren't these clear signs that animals have recognizable emotions and moral intelligence? With Wild Justice, Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce unequivocally answer yes.Marrying years of behavioral and cognitive research with compelling and moving anecdotes, Bekoff and Pierce reveal that animals exhibit a broad repertoire of moral behaviors, including fairness, empathy, trust, and reciprocity. Underlying these behaviors is a complex and nuanced range of emotions, backed by a high degree of intelligence and surprising behavioral flexibility. Animals, in short, are incredibly adept social beings, relying on rules of conduct to navigate intricate social networks that are essential to their survival. Ultimately, Bekoff and Pierce draw the astonishing conclusion that there is no moral gap between humans and other species: morality is an evolved trait that we unquestionably share with other social mammals. Sure to be controversial, Wild Justice offers not just cutting-edge science, but a provocative call to rethink our relationship with - and our responsibilities toward - our fellow animals.

About Marc Bekoff

Marc Bekoff is professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has published more than thirty books, is a former Guggenheim Fellow, and was awarded the Exemplar Award from the Animal Behavior Society for long-term significant contributions to the field of animal behavior.


Reviews

Goodreads review by ميقات on February 17, 2018

I have to admit that this book is completely different. I respect and appreciate the book for it's scientific subject and ethical and moral value. I found this book quite distinct from the intellectual, historical and literary books in general. The book taught me that all animals deserve respect, ca......more

Goodreads review by Lorien on August 14, 2009

I was a bit disappointed with the lack of science in this book, however, the authors make no claim that it is intended to be a scientific study of morality in non-human animals. Rather, the authors, a biologist and a philosopher, intend to raise the idea of morality in non-humans for consideration i......more

Goodreads review by Brian on August 27, 2020

A worthy effort to philosophically consider the kinds of sensitivity, empathy, altruism or morality that animals display. But I felt the best and most helpful bits were the mini-stories of how animals behave. I know stories are not supposed to count in hardball scientific debate. But stories were al......more

Goodreads review by Cheryl on March 27, 2014

This book brings together science and ethics and thus can be appreciated by a wide audience. Bekoff and Pierce challenge the anthropocentric worldview that infests so much of our thinking, especially in discussions of what sorts of beings can act morally. By inviting us to consider a scientific defi......more

Goodreads review by Peacegal on July 27, 2023

We often think of nature as violent and unforgiving, and indeed it can be, but there is another aspect to the lives of wild animals that we don’t as often see: one of cooperation, nurturing, even a sense of fair play. And this is not just in the species we’d expect, such as apes and elephants. We le......more