Animal Crisis: A New Critical Theory

Leading philosophers Alice Crary and Lori Gruen offer a searing and desperately needed response to systems of thought and action that are failing animals and, ultimately, humans too. In the wake of global pandemics, mass extinctions, habitat destruction, and catastrophic climate change, they issue a clarion call to address the intertwined problems we face, arguing that we must radically reimagine our relationships with other animals.

In stark contrast to traditional theories in animal ethics, which abstract from social mechanisms harmful to human beings,Animal Crisismakes the case that there can be no animal liberation without human emancipation. Borrowing from critical theories such as ecofeminism, Crary and Gruen present acritical animal theoryfor understanding and combating the structural forces that enable the diminishment of so many to the advantage of a few. With seven case studiesof complex human-animal relations, they make an urgent plea to dismantle the "human supremacism" that is devastating animal lives and hurtling us toward ecocide.

Read more Continue reading Read less REVIEW
"Animal Crisispresents the reader with the most thorough research into the ways in which animal lives are understood. The arguments are illustrated with stories of individual animals or groups of animals who have been cruelly treated. It is a must for all those who want to understand why we should treat animals ethically."
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace

"So radical, so morally unsettling, that you have to take your courage in both hands to read it. But read it you should."
Raimond Gaita, author ofThe Philosopher's Dog

"A deeply moving book that calls on us to reconsider our relationship to animals and to other humans and ecosystems we depend on."
Sally Haslanger, author ofResisting Reality

"[A]n inspirational and comprehensive book on animal ethics: concise yet packed with an impressive amount of potent information."
Leonardo Reviews ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alice Craryis University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at The New School for Social Research.
Lori Gruenis the William Griffin Professor of Philosophy at Wesleyan University. Read more Continue reading Read less