This groundbreaking work of both theoretical and experiential thought by two leading ecological
philosophers and animal liberation scientists ventures into a new frontier of applied ethical
anthrozoological studies. Through lean and elegant text readers will learn that human
interconnections with other species and ecosystems are severely endangered precisely because we
lack - by our evolutionary self-confidence - the very coherence that is everywhere around us
abundantly demonstrated. What our species has deemed to be superior is according to Tobias and
Morrison the cumulative result of a tragically tenuous argument predicated on the brink of our
species¿ self-destruction giving rise to a most unique proposition: We either recognize the
miracle of other sentient intelligence sophistication and genius or risk enshrining the
shortest lived epitaph of any known vertebrate in earth¿s 4.1 billion years of life. Tobias and
Morrison draw on 45 years of research in fields ranging from ecological anthropology animal
protection and comparative ethics to literature and spirituality - and beyond. They deploy
research in animal and plant behavior biocultural heritage contexts from every continent and
they bring to bear a deeply metaphysical array of perspectives that set this book apart from
any other. The book departs from most work in such fields as animal rights ecological
aesthetics comparative ethology or traditional animal and plant behaviorist work and yet it
speaks to readers with an interest in those fields. A deeply provocative book of philosophical
premises and hypotheses from two of the world¿s most influential ecological philosophers this
text is likely to stir uneasiness and debate for many decades to come.
