The Three Ethologies - (Animal Lives) by Matthew Calarco (Paperback)

About the Book

From factory farming to invasive experimentation to the use of animals in the entertainment industry, human interactions with animals frequently involve unjustifiable forms of exploitation, violence, and death. Activists have put significant effort into limiting or abolishing such problematic forms of human-animal interactions. For philosopher Matthew Calarco, this critical focus on restrictions, while vitally important, does not go far enough in reforming our relationships with animals. Instead, we need to interrogate the values that structure our lives as a whole to ask: What might a good life in common with animals look like. The Three Ethologies articulates positive ideals of human interactions with animals and offers an affirmative approach to constructing human-animal relations anew. Calarco develops three distinct but interrelated ethological lenses to this end: 1 ethos as individual character-the self; 2 ethos as shared practices and relations-the social; and 3 ethos as the typical dwelling places of animals and human beings-the environment. This three-pronged framework leads us to an inspiring vision of how ethological living can help us to reimagine philosophical ideals of goodness, truth, and beauty

Book Synopsis

A transformative vision for human-animal relations on personal, social, and environmental levels.

The Three Ethologies offers a fresh, affirmative vision for rebuilding human-animal relations. Venturing beyond the usual scholarly and activist emphasis on restricting harm, Matthew Calarco develops a new philosophy for understanding animal behavior--a practice known as ethology--through three distinct but interrelated lenses: mental ethology, which rebuilds individual subjectivity; social ethology, which rethinks our communal relations; and environmental ethology, which reconfigures our relationship to the land we co-inhabit with our animal kin. Drawing on developments in philosophy, (eco)feminist theory, critical geography, Indigenous studies, and the environmental humanities, Calarco casts an inspiring vision of how ethological living can help us to reimagine our ideas about goodness, truth, and beauty.

Review Quotes

"With impressive clarity . . . a challenging, enjoyable read, and a lesson in philosophy."-- "The European Legacy"

"[A] landmark book."-- "Psychology Today"

"Calarco develops a very strong argument for rethinking our relation to other species along with the land that, as Indigenous peoples teach, holds us in connection. This highly readable book for those with a philosophical bent clears the ground for a reinvention of social bonds for an interspecies ethics. Along with the argument, vignettes anchored in the author's own experiences with a family of crows offer a glimpse of the beauty we might behold in learning to see-with other animals."--Cynthia Willett, Emory University

"Calarco is a longstanding pioneer thinker in animal studies who weds philosophical acuity with activist passion. In this work, he explores intellectual and practical transformations necessary for the lively co-existence of humans and animals in a post-anthropocentric world. His onto-ethical vision is a lyrical call for a worthwhile and meaningful life rife with opportunities for co-flourishing."--Eileen Crist, Virginia Tech

"Modeled on Guattari's The Three Ecologies, Calarco's new book offers more than just an argument for a deeper, more compassionate coexistence with our fellow non-human creatures. It offers a vision of the good life, a richer modus vivendi that can only be achieved with their help. The question is this: can we become worthy of their gifts? Read this book and find out how."--Cary Wolfe, Rice University

About the Author

Matthew Calarco is professor of philosophy at California State University, Fullerton. He is the author of three books, including Altermobilities: Reflections on Roadkill between Mobility Studies and Animal Studies.