The Souls of Animals - Softcover

Kowalski, Gary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1577315901 ISBN 13: 9781577315902

Publisher: New World Library, 2007

Synopsis

      Why do elephants bury their dead? What makes birds sing and cranes dance? Do animals appreciate art? Do they know the difference between right and wrong? Do they experience awe and wonder?  First published a quarter-century ago, The Souls of Animals has been revised and updated to remain a classic in its field.      Harvard educated theologian Reverend Gary Kowalski awoke to the inwardness of other species when he heard the story of Koko, the lowland gorilla who had mastered sign language and tried to explain her feelings on learning of the death of her pet kitten.  "How do gorillas feel when they die: happy, sad, afraid?" the animal was asked. Koko responded with the the sign for "Sleep."      For the author, it launched the beginning of a life-changing exploration, inquiring into the extent to which other creatures share in the joys, sorrows, and travail that make us human.  The Souls of Animals combines heartwarming stories with solid science to show that other creatures are not insensitive objects devoid of feeling and intellect but thinking, sentient beings with emotions and spirits similar to our own.

About this title

From the Author:

Many people think of soul as the element of personality that survives bodily death, but for me it refers to something much more down-to-earth.  Soul is the marrow of our existence as sentient, sensitive beings.  It's soul that's revealed in great works of art, and soul that's lifted up in awe when we stand in silence under a night sky burning with billions of stars.  When we speak of a soulful piece of music, we mean one that comes out of infinite depths of feeling.  When we speak of the soul of a nation, we mean its capacity for valor and visionary change.  "The soul," said psychoanalyst Carl Jung, "is partly in eternity and partly in time."  Soul is present whenever our lives intersect the dimension of the holy: in moments of intimacy, in flights of fancy, and in rituals that hallow the evanescent events of our lives with enduring significance.  Soul is what makes each of our lives a microcosm--not merely a meaningless fragment of the universe, but at some level a reflection of the whole.
No one can prove that animals have souls.  Asking for proof would be like demanding proof that I love my wife and children, or wanting me to prove that Handel's Messiah is a glorious masterpiece of music.  Some truths simply cannot be demonstrated.  But if we open our hearts to other creatures and allow ourselves to sympathize with their joys and struggles, we will find they have the power to touch and transform us.  There is an inwardness in other creatures that awakens what is innermost in ourselves.

About the Author:

The Reverend Gary Kowalski is the author of eight books on nature, spirituality, science, and the environment, including Goodbye Friend: Healing Wisdom For Anyone Who Has Ever Lost A Pet, The Bible According To Noah and Earth Day: An Alphabet Book.  His work has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Czech, appeared in magazines like Tikkun and Yoga Journal, and been voted a "Reader's Favorite" by the Quality Paperback Bookclub.  A graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Divinity School, Reverend Kowalski has served Unitarian Universalist congregations across the United States.  He currently resides in Burlington, Vermont.

About this edition

• Publisher: New World Library
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1577315901
• ISBN 13: 9781577315902
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 160