The Resource Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature, Catherine Osborne
Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature, Catherine Osborne
Resource Information
The item Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature, Catherine Osborne represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri Libraries.This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
Resource Information
The item Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature, Catherine Osborne represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri Libraries.
This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
- Summary
- Animal rights do not feature explicitly in ancient thought. Indeed the notion of natural rights in general is not obviously present in the classical world. Plato and Aristotle are typically read as racist and elitist thinkers who barely recognise the humanity of their fellow humans. Surely they would be the last to show up as models of the humane view of other kinds? In this unusual philosophy book, Catherine Osborne asks the reader to think again. She shows that Plato's views on reincarnation and Aristotle's views on the souls of plants and animals reveal a continuous thread of life in which humans are not morally superior to beasts; Greek tragedy turns up thoughts that mirror the claims of rights activists when they speak for the voiceless; the Desert Fathers teach us to admire the natural perceptiveness of animals rather than the corrupt ways of urban man; the long tradition of arguments for vegetarianism in antiquity highlights how mankind's abuse of other animals is the more offensive the more it is for indulgent ends. What, then, is the humane attitude, and why is it better? How does the humane differ from the sentimental? Is there a truth about how we should treat animals? By reflecting on the work of the ancient poets and philosophers, Osborne argues, we can see when and how we lost touch with the natural intelligence of dumb animals.--Book jacket
- Language
- eng
- Extent
- xi, 262 pages
- Contents
-
- Part I. Constructing divisions
- Introduction : on William Blake, nature, and mortality
- On nature and providence : readings in Herodotus, Protagoras, and Democritus
- Part II. Perceiving continuities
- On the transmigration of souls : reincarnation into animal bodies in Pythagoras, Empedocles, and Plato
- On language, concepts, and automata : rational and irrational animals in Aristotle and Descartes
- On the disadvantages of being a complex organism : Aristotle and the scala naturae
- Part III. Being realistic
- On the vice of sentimentality : Androcles and the lion and some extraordinary adventures in the Desert Fathers
- On the notion of natural rights : defending the voiceless and oppressed in the tragedies of Sophocles
- On self-defence and utilitarian calculations : Democritus of Abdera and Hermarchus of Mytilene
- On eating animals : Porphyry's dietary rules for philosophers
- Isbn
- 9780199282067
- Label
- Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature
- Title
- Dumb beasts and dead philosophers
- Title remainder
- humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature
- Statement of responsibility
- Catherine Osborne
- Language
- eng
- Summary
- Animal rights do not feature explicitly in ancient thought. Indeed the notion of natural rights in general is not obviously present in the classical world. Plato and Aristotle are typically read as racist and elitist thinkers who barely recognise the humanity of their fellow humans. Surely they would be the last to show up as models of the humane view of other kinds? In this unusual philosophy book, Catherine Osborne asks the reader to think again. She shows that Plato's views on reincarnation and Aristotle's views on the souls of plants and animals reveal a continuous thread of life in which humans are not morally superior to beasts; Greek tragedy turns up thoughts that mirror the claims of rights activists when they speak for the voiceless; the Desert Fathers teach us to admire the natural perceptiveness of animals rather than the corrupt ways of urban man; the long tradition of arguments for vegetarianism in antiquity highlights how mankind's abuse of other animals is the more offensive the more it is for indulgent ends. What, then, is the humane attitude, and why is it better? How does the humane differ from the sentimental? Is there a truth about how we should treat animals? By reflecting on the work of the ancient poets and philosophers, Osborne argues, we can see when and how we lost touch with the natural intelligence of dumb animals.--Book jacket
- Cataloging source
- DLC
- http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
- Rowett, Catherine
- Dewey number
- 179/.3
- Index
- index present
- LC call number
- HV4708
- LC item number
- .O73 2007
- Literary form
- non fiction
- Nature of contents
- bibliography
- http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
-
- Animal welfare
- Philosophy, Ancient
- Animals in literature
- Literature, Ancient
- Animals and civilization
- Label
- Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature, Catherine Osborne
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [243]-248) and indexes
- Carrier category
- volume
- Carrier category code
-
- nc
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
- Part I. Constructing divisions -- Introduction : on William Blake, nature, and mortality -- On nature and providence : readings in Herodotus, Protagoras, and Democritus -- Part II. Perceiving continuities -- On the transmigration of souls : reincarnation into animal bodies in Pythagoras, Empedocles, and Plato -- On language, concepts, and automata : rational and irrational animals in Aristotle and Descartes -- On the disadvantages of being a complex organism : Aristotle and the scala naturae -- Part III. Being realistic -- On the vice of sentimentality : Androcles and the lion and some extraordinary adventures in the Desert Fathers -- On the notion of natural rights : defending the voiceless and oppressed in the tragedies of Sophocles -- On self-defence and utilitarian calculations : Democritus of Abdera and Hermarchus of Mytilene -- On eating animals : Porphyry's dietary rules for philosophers
- Control code
- 77572849
- Dimensions
- 25 cm
- Extent
- xi, 262 pages
- Isbn
- 9780199282067
- Isbn Type
- (hbk. : alk. paper)
- Lccn
- 2006102304
- Media category
- unmediated
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- n
- System control number
- (OCoLC)77572849
- Label
- Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature, Catherine Osborne
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [243]-248) and indexes
- Carrier category
- volume
- Carrier category code
-
- nc
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
- Part I. Constructing divisions -- Introduction : on William Blake, nature, and mortality -- On nature and providence : readings in Herodotus, Protagoras, and Democritus -- Part II. Perceiving continuities -- On the transmigration of souls : reincarnation into animal bodies in Pythagoras, Empedocles, and Plato -- On language, concepts, and automata : rational and irrational animals in Aristotle and Descartes -- On the disadvantages of being a complex organism : Aristotle and the scala naturae -- Part III. Being realistic -- On the vice of sentimentality : Androcles and the lion and some extraordinary adventures in the Desert Fathers -- On the notion of natural rights : defending the voiceless and oppressed in the tragedies of Sophocles -- On self-defence and utilitarian calculations : Democritus of Abdera and Hermarchus of Mytilene -- On eating animals : Porphyry's dietary rules for philosophers
- Control code
- 77572849
- Dimensions
- 25 cm
- Extent
- xi, 262 pages
- Isbn
- 9780199282067
- Isbn Type
- (hbk. : alk. paper)
- Lccn
- 2006102304
- Media category
- unmediated
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- n
- System control number
- (OCoLC)77572849
Library Links
Embed
Settings
Select options that apply then copy and paste the RDF/HTML data fragment to include in your application
Embed this data in a secure (HTTPS) page:
Layout options:
Include data citation:
<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.library.missouri.edu/portal/Dumb-beasts-and-dead-philosophers--humanity-and/1t9EH5E5xmU/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.library.missouri.edu/portal/Dumb-beasts-and-dead-philosophers--humanity-and/1t9EH5E5xmU/">Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature, Catherine Osborne</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.library.missouri.edu/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.library.missouri.edu/">University of Missouri Libraries</a></span></span></span></span></div>
Note: Adjust the width and height settings defined in the RDF/HTML code fragment to best match your requirements
Preview
Cite Data - Experimental
Data Citation of the Item Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature, Catherine Osborne
Copy and paste the following RDF/HTML data fragment to cite this resource
<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.library.missouri.edu/portal/Dumb-beasts-and-dead-philosophers--humanity-and/1t9EH5E5xmU/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.library.missouri.edu/portal/Dumb-beasts-and-dead-philosophers--humanity-and/1t9EH5E5xmU/">Dumb beasts and dead philosophers : humanity and the humane in ancient philosophy and literature, Catherine Osborne</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.library.missouri.edu/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.library.missouri.edu/">University of Missouri Libraries</a></span></span></span></span></div>
