When Elephants Weep : Emotional Lives of Animals - Softcover

Masson, Jeffrey Moussaieff And McCarthy, Susan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099478919 ISBN 13: 9780099478911

Publisher: Delta, 1996

Synopsis

Arguments that animals possess an emotional life are often dismissed as sentimental anthropomorphism. This book challenges that notion by proposing that the objective scientific evidence for human emotions is all but non-existent. Thus, if the whole of our human psychological understanding rests on reflective inferences, why are the same criteria considered invalid for animals?

About this title

From the Publisher:

"This is not only an important book, it's marvelous! If animals could read, they would be filled with joy and gratitude to the authors--as I am. It is scholarly, vivid, and compelling. Please read it." -- Jane Goodall

For over 100 years a chasm has separated animal lovers--who know that their dog, cat, horse, or parrot have complex emotional lives--and scientists, to whom attributing any emotions to animals has been equivalent to heresy. And while a groundswell among a new generation of scientists has begun chipping away at this traditional taboo, and animal lovers eagerly consume whatever they find about the subject, no one book has yet gathered all the available information into an engaging and authoritative portrait of animals' emotional lives. Not, that is, until now.

With chapters on love, joy, anger, fear, shame, compassion, and loneliness, all framed by a provocative reevaluation of how we treat animals, When Elephants Weep is the first book since Darwin's to explore the full range of emotions throughout the animal kingdom, and it features a cast of hundreds. Meet Siri the Indian elephant, whose expressive sketches have been praised by artists Willem and Elaine de Kooning. Meet Koko, a bashful gorilla proficient in sign language who loves to play house with dolls--but only when no one is looking--and Michael, another signing gorilla, who cannot be disturbed whenever Pavarotti sings on television. Then there's Moja, the joyful mongoose who waltzes with squirrels; Toto, the steadfast chimpanzee who literally nursed his malaria-stricken human observer back to health; and Alex, an African grey parrot with an astonishing vocabulary, who, when left at the veterinarian's office, shrieked, "Come here! I love you. I'm sorry. I want to go back."

By contrast, you'll also meet scores of biologists, ethologists, and animal behaviorists whos anecdote-rich field notes and studies paint compelling portraits of their subject s' rich emotional lives, yet whos conclusions frequently appear as fancy footwork around the obvious. When Elephants Weep also draws upon the illuminating experiences of animal trainers--from Sea World and the Ringling Bros. circus to Guide Dogs for the Blind--and is sprinkled with insights from pet owners, literature, myth, and fable to create a riveting and revolutionary portrayal of animals' lives that will permanently change and enrich the way you look at animals.

From the Inside Flap:

l bestseller exploring the complex emotional lives of animals was hailed as "a masterpiece" by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and as "marvelous" by Jane Goodall.

The popularity of When Elephants Weep has swept the nation, as author Jeffrey Masson appeared on Dateline NBC, Good Morning America, and was profiled in People for his ground-breaking and fascinating study. Not since Darwin's The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals has a book so thoroughly and effectively explored the full range of emotions that exist throughout the animal kingdom.

From dancing squirrels to bashful gorillas to spiteful killer whales, Masson and coauthor Susan McCarthy bring forth fascinating anecdotes and illuminating insights that offer powerful proof of the existence of animal emotion. Chapters on love, joy, anger, fear, shame, compassion, and loneliness are framed by a provocative re-evaluation of how we treat animals, from

About this edition

• Publisher: Delta
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0099478919
• ISBN 13: 9780099478911
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272