‘Animate’: How nonhuman and human minds are inherently linked
The notion that humans are separate and superior to nonhuman animals has been used for hundreds of years to justify both our dominion over the natural world and our cruel treatment of animals. This human-centric arrogance is driven by indifference and the fear of seeing ourselves in other animals, resulting in an era called the Anthropocene, often called ‘the age of humanity’, when, in fact, it’s more appropriately called “the rage of inhumanity. It has defined the cultural evolution of humankind, since it describes not only a division between human and nonhuman, but between nature and culture, body and mind, matter and spirit.
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY: In his beautifully written, wide-ranging, and impeccably researched book Animate: How Animals Shape the Human Mind, acclaimed author Michael Bond carefully traces how we, humans, arrived at where we are today, disconnected from wild animals and their homes and wrongly thinking of ourselves as superior to other animals and separate from and above them.
This human-centric arrogance is driven by indifference and the fear of seeing ourselves in other animals, resulting in an era called the Anthropocene, often called “the age of humanity,” when, in fact, it’s more appropriately called “the rage of inhumanity.”
Bond aptly and correctly concludes that, without other animals, “we can hardly be human.” Animate will make you rethink who they (other animals) truly are and who we truly are, and we can only hope it will result in people changing their speciesist ways of interacting with our animal kin, with whom we actually share a large number of traits…
Marc Bekoff: Why did you write Animate, and why did you decide on this title?
Michael Bond: Our knowledge about the sentience and intelligence of animals has grown hugely in recent years, and we can no longer hide behind the conceit that they are categorically different from us. The title Animate, which can be read as an adjective or a verb, is meant to evoke the bustle and drama of the natural world, and the idea that animals are alive in our minds and have been since our prehistoric ancestors lived among them…
Marc Bekoff: What are some of the topics you consider, and what are some of your major messages?
Michael Bond: A good part of the book describes the change in our relationship with animals that started around 10,000 years ago during the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of permanent settlements and agriculture. This culminated during the Middle Ages in what is known as “the great divide,” the (erroneous) assumption that humans are biologically, cognitively, and morally distinct from other creatures.
This notion that we are separate and superior has been used for hundreds of years to justify both our dominion over the natural world and our cruel treatment of animals. It has defined the cultural evolution of humankind, since it describes not only a division between human and nonhuman, but between nature and culture, body and mind, matter and spirit.
In between these rather serious themes are lots of stories of mythological animals, of animals in folk tales and fables, of animals who were tried in medieval courts, of people who have lived with wild animals and others who were buried with them, of animal phobics, hoarders and obsessives, and even of people who believe that they are animals. Despite the best efforts of theologians and intellectuals, people have always been fascinated by animals and eager to explore the boundaries between species. MARC BEKOFF
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