When Harambe, a now-famous gorilla at the Cincinnati zoo, was shot for endangering a small child, animal rights activists protested, calling into question moral reasoning that privileges the possibility of injury to a human over definite violence to an animal. Many others, though less vehement in their objection, voiced the same questions: was the gorilla any worse than the negligent parents? Doesn't Harambe have rights just like you and me? How do we decide what animals deserve and how we ought to treat them? To what extent are our attitudes towards animals embedded in our subconscious and immune to reason? The foundations of our moral attitudes to animals are more complex than many may appreciate. Subhuman takes an interdisciplinary approach to these questions, drawing from research in philosophy, neuroscience, psychology, law, history, sociology, economics, and anthropology, to unearth surprising revelations about human relationships with animals. T.J. Kasperbauer argues provocatively that behind our positive and negative attitudes to animals is an enduring concern that animals pose a threat to our humanness. Namely, our need to ensure animals' inferiority to human beings affects both our kindness and cruelty to animals. Kasperbauer develops this idea by looking at research on the phenomenon of dehumanization, revealing that our attitudes to other humans are predicted and reflected in our treatment of other species. In making his case, Kasperbauer provides a critical survey of leading theories that range over the role of animals in human evolutionary history, the psychology of meat-eating and keeping pets, feelings of fear and disgust toward animals, the use of animal minds to determine their moral status, and the "expanding moral circle" hypothesis. By exploring the psychological obstacles humans face in meeting ethical demands, Kasperbauer sets forth new and fascinating ways of thinking about our moral obligations to animals, and how we might correct them.

About the Author
T.J. Kasperbauer is a Visiting Researcher in the Department of Philosophy at George Washington University. He has published widely on the relevance of moral psychology to animals and the environment, covering topics such as climate change, sustainability, animal de-extinction, and animal welfare.

Reviews
...offers a helpful critique... * A.G. Holdier, Journal of Moral Philosophy *
Subhuman will provide a fascinating read for any educated reader, and especially for students of philosophy and psychology, even if you do not agree with some of the book's founding claims. I recommend it highly for anyone interested in a satisfying foray into human/animal relations. * Wendy C. Hamblet, Metapsychology Online Reviews *
In this book, T.J. Kasparbauer succeeds in opening up a largely unexplored area of philosophical inquiry -- the moral psychology of human attitudes towards animals. Empirically well-informed, but also philosophically adroit, Kasparbauer's book is interesting, original, and provides an impressive yardstick for future work in this area. * Mark Rowlands, Professor of Philosophy, University of Miami *
Subhuman is a call to action for animal ethicists. Kasperbauer's theory about infrahumanization is of immense significance, not least for conversations about the ethics of competing advocacy strategies, the difficult task of cause prioritization, and the relationship between animal advocacy and other social justice movements. We've long needed a book like this, and there's plenty of work to be done in its wake. * Bob Fischer, Department of Philosophy, Texas State University *
Our relation to animals is among the most important and, at the same time, the most puzzling moral questions of our time: We love our pets and spend countless hours in zoos and aquariums while allowing the disappearance of too many species and the suffering to too many animals. By bringing cutting-edge psychology to systematically bear on this moral question, Kasperbauer's superb book, Subhuman, revolutionizes our understanding of our relation to animals. It is also a deep and important contribution to moral psychology. * Edouard Machery, Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190695811
Author T. J. Kasperbauer
Format Hardback
Page Count 248
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 295g
Dimensions(mm) 145mm * 211mm * 23mm