While philosophers have been interested in animals since ancient times, in the last few decades the subject of animal minds has emerged as a major topic in philosophy. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems, and debates in this exciting subject and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising nearly fifty chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into eight parts:

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• Mental representation
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• Reasoning and metacognition
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• Consciousness
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• Mindreading
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• Communication
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• Social cognition and culture
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• Association, simplicity, and modeling
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• Ethics.
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Within these sections, central issues, debates, and problems are examined, including: whether and how animals represent and reason about the world; how animal cognition differs from human cognition; whether animals are conscious; whether animals represent their own mental states or those of others; how animals communicate; the extent to which animals have cultures; how to choose among competing models and explanations of animal behavior; and whether animals are moral agents and/or moral patients.

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, ethics, and related disciplines such as ethology, biology, psychology, linguistics, and anthropology.

About the Author

Kristin Andrews is York Research Chair in Animal Minds in the Department of Philosophy at York University in Toronto, Canada, and is the author of two books: Do Apes Read Minds? Toward a New Folk Psychology (2012) and The Animal Mind (Routledge 2015).

Jacob Beck is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and member of the Centre for Vision Research at York University in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

"This collection offers readers a rich feast of ideas, information and argument about the minds of some of the other beings with whom we share our planet. The chapters draw on recent scientific breakthroughs that inform discussions of such questions as the possibility of consciousness in ants, on the evidence for pain in fish, and on the capacities for empathy of rats and chimpanzees. It is hard to imagine any reader who will not find something in these pages that will excite his or her own mind." - Peter Singer, Princeton University, USA; author of Animal Liberation

"This is exciting stuff! A new field of philosophy has come of age and this broad ranging volume has assembled an all-star collection of authors. For anyone interested in animals and their mental life, it will be the go-to volume for the next decade." - Stephen Stich, Rutgers University, USA

"What is it like to be a non-human being? In penetrating, sometimes entertaining chapters, numerous authors summarize the many approaches to the many parts of the answer to that question. This is a thorough overview of the immense span of human thinking about the capacity of non-human beings to experience life. It is a great resource for students, teachers, researchers, and writers interested in the topic." - Carl Safina, Stony Brook University, USA; author of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel

Book Information
ISBN 9780367871291
Author Kristin Andrews
Format Paperback
Page Count 540
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 294g