A “new human nature” – the key to our own and other species’ survival
The world is not flat and animals and plants think, feel, conceptualize and far surpass our species in a myriad of obvious and astonishing ways, according to authors Michael Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison
Heidelberg | New York, 01 February 2017
In their new Springer book Anthrozoology: Embracing Co-Existence in the Anthropocene, the authors explore how we have lost the ability to communicate with other species, leading to the start of the sixth spasm of extinction.
However, we do not have to be doomed by our ignorance. If we open our minds and rewild our hearts, ecological and therefore moral redemption are possible.
Tobias says, “Conversations with all who we call the others, conducted at some primeval but accessible and non-invasive level, are the antidote to a continuing epoch of human destruction.”
He and Morrison set forth some of the highlights of an all-out form of combat we have waged against Earth for thousands of years. Blinded by narcissism, we have been furiously failing the home that we share with plants and animals. With ideals and action, we can reconcile that war.
Our enchantment with the natural world can be rekindled. We are starting to recognize that our supposed supremacy on the planet was misplaced. Insisting upon ourselves as the ultimate agents of knowledge has been ruinous. By celebrating and revering nature, the survival of the biosphere can be preserved.
Morrison says, “It is vital to our future that we recognise the miracle of morality all around us and the feelings, sophistication and genius in other species, whose lives matter to them.”
The authors aim to counter widespread ecological illiteracy, indifference and callousness towards other humans and other species. They provide a study of human life in the context of Earth’s remarkable biodiversity and argue that kindness, altruism and gentle observations are the true ingredients for biological success.
The book seeks to expand the boundaries of consciousness, intelligence and interspecies communication. The result is a deeply metaphysical perspective on the Anthropocene, all that has preceded it and what it may hold in store.
Between them, Michael Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison have authored some 50 books and written, directed and produced some 170 films. They have conducted field research together in over 80 countries across the disciplines of comparative literature, anthropology, the history of science and philosophy, ecology and ethics.
Tobias, M.C., Morrison, J.G.
Anthrozoology: Embracing Co-Existence in the Anthropocene
2017 XXII, 338, 4 b/w illustrations, 131 illustrations in color
Hardcover £24.00 ISBN 978-3-319-45963-9
Also available as an eBook ISBN 978-3-319-45963-9
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Christina Theis | Springer | Communications
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