The Emotional Lives of Animals

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review

If the onus on Emotional Lives of Animals author Marc Bekoff was simply to prove that nonhuman creatures exhibit Charles Darwin's six universal emotions (anger, happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, and surprise), then his book would be very brief. As anyone who has ever had a pet dog, cat, rabbit, or even bird can attest, animals not only possess such emotions but broadcast them clearly and often. Bekoff's goal, however, is much grander: To show that wild and domestic species have a kaleidoscopic range of feelings, from embarrassment to awe, and that we dismiss them not only at their peril but our own. And if an endorsement squib by PETA president Ingrid Newkirk and Foreword by renowned animal scientist Jane Goodall doesn't give it away, then readers quickly learn that Bekoff also has an agenda: showing that using animals for scientific experiments, amusement, food, and the like is reprehensible and unconscionable.
Not that The Emotional Lives of Animals is a polemic. By turns funny, anecdotal, and deeply researched, the book is all the more persuasive because it's so compelling. As Bekoff (professor emeritus of biology at the University of Colorado) points out, "It's bad biology to argue against the existence of animal emotions. Scientific research in evolutionary biology, cognitive ethology, and social neuroscience supports the view that numerous and diverse animals have rich and deep emotional lives. Emotions have evolved as adaptations in numerous species, and they serve as a social glue to bond animals with one another." And with us, as Bekoff argues in this absorbing and important book. -- Kim Hughes

From Publishers Weekly
Any dog owner knows that her own pet has feelings, but what evidence exists beyond the anecdotal, and what does this evidence teach us? Bekoff, professor emeritus of biology at the University of Colorado, pores through decades of animal research-behavioral, neurochemical, psychological and environmental-to answer that question, compelling readers to accept both the existence and significance of animal emotions. Seated in the most primitive structures of the brain (pleasure receptors, for example, are biologically correlative in all mammals), emotions have a long evolutionary history. Indeed, as vertebrates became more complex, they developed ever more complex emotional and social lives, "setting rules" that permit group living-a far better survival strategy than going solo. Along the way, Bekoff forces the reader to re-examine the nature of human beings; our species could not have persevered through the past 100,000 years without the evolution of strong and cohesive social relationships cemented with emotions, a conclusion contrary to contemporary pop sociology notions that prioritize individualism and competition. He also explores, painfully but honestly, the abuse animals regularly withstand in factory farms, research centers and elsewhere, and calls on fellow scientists to practice their discipline with "heart." Demonstrating the far-reaching implications for readers' relationships with any number of living beings, Bekoff's book is profound, thought-provoking and even touching.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
For several years ethologist and author Bekoff (Minding Animals 2002; Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, 2005) studied communication in wild and domestic animals and gradually became convinced that humans are not the only animals that experience emotions. Here, Bekoff examines the concept of emotion in the lives of nonhumans, the evolutionary advantages of emotions, and the neurological basis for emotions. This field of cognitive ethology--the study of the subjective, emotional, empathic and moral lives of animals--encompasses researchers from many different fields and embraces data from the most scientifically rigid to the anecdotal. Bekoff writes in a highly personal style that vitalizes his discussion of the scientific background of cognitive ethology, and the text is liberally sprinkled with stories from his own and other authors' writings, as well as anecdotes from other scientists, that illustrate his arguments. The final sections focus on how to conduct scientifically rigorous research while addressing scientific rigidity on the subject of animal emotions, and the ethics of how we live our lives with animals. A readable book equally charming and challenging. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
-A work of rare beauty and insight.- - Best Friends -A glorious, moving, important book to enjoy and share.- - Ingrid Newkirk -Demonstrating the far-reaching implications for readers- relationships with any number of living beings, Bekoff-s book is profound, thought-provoking, and even touching.- - Publishers Weekly (starred review) -A readable book equally charming and challenging.- - Booklist -Anyone interested in animal emotion will want a copy of this book. Bekoff speaks with the unique authority of an expert who is experiencing the success of a revolution in science and ethics that he helped make and that will endure (if we endure) as one of the signal achievements - along with the expansion of human rights and environmentalism - of the late twentieth century.- - The BARk -I firmly believe that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes. Therefore, I welcome Marc Bekoff-s book The Emotional Lives of Animals.- - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Review
“Anyone interested in animal emotion will want a copy of this book. Bekoff speaks with the unique authority of an expert who is experiencing the success of a revolution in science and ethics that he helped make and that will endure (if we endure) as one of the signal achievements — along with the expansion of human rights and environmentalism — of the late twentieth century.”
— The BARk

“This thought-provoking book could very likely change your life.”
— The Animals Voice

“Marc Bekoff ably presents the richness and variety of the emotions in nonhuman animals — and doesn’t hesitate to draw the ethical conclusions implicit in his findings. I hope this book will be widely read by those who care about animals — and even more widely by those who don’t.”
— Peter Singer, professor of bioethics, Princeton University


Product Description
Based on award-winning scientist Marc Bekoff-s years studying social communication in a wide range of species, this important book shows that animals have rich emotional lives. Bekoff skillfully blends extraordinary stories of animal joy, empathy, grief, embarrassment, anger, and love with the latest scientific research confirming the existence of emotions that common sense and experience have long implied. Filled with Bekoff-s light humor and touching stories, The Emotional Lives of Animals is a clarion call for reassessing both how we view animals and how we treat them.

From the Back Cover
"As a boy studying Buddhism in Tibet, I was taught the importance of a caring attitude toward others. Such a practice of nonviolence applies to all sentient beings -- any living thing that has a mind. Where there is a mind, there are feelings such as pain, pleasure, and joy. No sentient beings want pain; instead all want happiness. Since we all share these feelings at some basic level, as rational human beings we have an obligation to contribute in whatever way we can to the happiness of other species and try our best to relieve their fears and sufferings. I firmly believe that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes, therefore I welcome Marc Bekoff's book The Emotional Lives of Animals."
-- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

"Move over Darwin. And prepare to be moved. In The Emotional Lives of Animals, world-class scientist Marc Bekoff argues forcefully that our emotions are the gifts of our animal ancestors. Bekoff's new book itself is a gift that invites us to explore and appreciate the passionate lives of animals. Weaving in the latest scientific data about empathic mice and elephants suffering from PTSD with wonderful stories about laughing dogs and pissy baboons, Bekoff's forward-looking book offers both an explanation and an ethical compass that opens the door for hope in the ways in which we interact with other animals."
-- Dr. Marty Becker, resident veterinarian on Good Morning America and author of The Healing Power of Pets

"Marc Bekoff is one of those rare scientists who can talk real sense about animals because he is aware of being an animal himself. Read this wonderful book."
-- Mary Midgley, author of Animals and Why They Matter and The Ethical Primate

"An extraordinary, intelligent, and valuable book about a subject one might be forgiven for thinking taboo since it is so absent from discussion: an exploration of the other animals' feelings, the emotional makeup we share with them yet often do not know exists, forget entirely, deliberately ignore or casually disregard. Here we see animals, whole and complete, thinking their not-so-private thoughts, grieving, loving, jumping for joy, and fleeing that which is painful or upsetting and it makes us think about who they are and what our impact is and can be on their lives. Marc Bekoff captures not only poignant incidents of the animals' emotions as evidenced by observations and pure commonsense, but brings to each discovery his own vital repertoire of human emotion and expression. A glorious, moving, important book to enjoy and share."
-- Ingrid Newkirk, cofounder and president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

"A thought-provoking, compassionate, and scholarly work from one of the world's most eminent behavioral scientists."
-- Dr. Ian Dunbar, founder of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers and author of Before & After Getting Your Puppy

"In clear and convincing language, Mark Bekoff provides rational defense for what many of us already sense -- that animals can feel sorrow, joy, anger, and pleasure much as we humans do. Bekoff proves that this idea is not only compatible with the fact of evolution, but it is required by it. Once it considers the argument of this finely argued book, science will never be the same."
-- Dr David Rothenberg, professor of philosophy, New Jersey Institute of Technology and author of Why Birds Sing and Sudden Music

"In The Emotional Lives of Animals, Marc Bekoff has pulled together the growing body of scientific evidence that supports the existence of a variety of emotions in other animals, richly illustrated by his own careful observations. He suggests that it is a waste of time even to ask if chimpanzees, elephants, dogs, and so on experience happiness, sadness, despair, and anger - that this is self-evident to anyone who has spent time or shared his or her life in a meaningful way with animals. Combining careful scientific methodology with intuition and common sense, this book will be a great tool for those who are struggling to improve the lives of animals in environments where, so often, there is an almost total lack of understanding. I only hope it will persuade many people to reconsider the way they treat animals in the future."
-- Jane Goodall

About the Author
One of the world's foremost experts on animal emotions, Marc Bekoff is professor emeritus of Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He has won many awards for his scientific research including a Guggenheim Fellowship, and is a prolific writer with more than200 articles as well two encyclopedias to his credit. The author or editor of numerous books, including the Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, The Ten Trusts (with Jane Goodall), and The Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior. His most recent books include The Smile of a Dolphin, Minding Animals, Animal Passions and Beastly Virtues: Reflections on Redecorating Nature. In 2005 Marc was presented with The Bank One Faculty Community Service Award for the work he has done with children, senior citizens, and prisoners. Marc has appeared on Good Morning America and has been interviewed by Time, The Wall Street Journal, Nature, Bark, and What Is Enlightenment?.