Readership: Scholars and students of philosophy, especially ethics and ancient philosophy; classicists
Catherine Osborne, University of East Anglia
"This is an insightful book, which is both gracefully written and occasionally combative, is distinguished by its use of a richly varied set of ancient sources on human-animal relationships." - Alice Crary, Philosophical Investigations
Part One: Constructing Divisions 1: Introduction: on William Blake, nature and mortality 2: On nature and providence: readings in Herodotus, Protagoras and Democritus Part Two: Perceiving Continuities 3: On the transmigration of souls: reincarnation into animal bodies in Pythagoras, Empedocles and Plato 4: On language, concepts and automata: rational and irrational animals in Aristotle and Descartes 5: On the disadvantages of being a complex organism: Aristotle and the scala naturae Part Three: Being Realistic 6: On the vice of sentimentality: Androcles and the Lion and some extraordinary adventures in the Desert Fathers 7: On the notion of natural rights: defending the voiceless and oppressed in the Tragedies of Sophocles 8: On self-defence and utilitarian calculations: Democritus of Abdera and Hermarchus of Mytilene 9: On eating animals: Porphyry's dietary rules for philosophers Conclusion
