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Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Science & Technology (2015)Beyond Words, readers travel to Amboseli National Park in the threatened landscape of Kenya and witness struggling elephant families work out how to survive poaching and drought, then to Yellowstone National Park to observe wolves sort out the aftermath of one pack's personal tragedy, and finally plunge into the astonishingly peaceful society of killer whales living in the crystalline waters of the Pacific Northwest.
461 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2015
About the author
Carl Safina
55 books527 followersCarl Safina’s work has been recognized with MacArthur, Pew, and Guggenheim Fellowships, and his writing has won Orion, Lannan, and National Academies literary awards and the John Burroughs, James Beard, and George Rabb medals. He has a PhD in ecology from Rutgers University. Safina is the inaugural holder of the endowed chair for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University, where he co-chairs the steering committee of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and is founding president of the not-for-profit organization, The Safina Center. He hosted the 10-part PBS series Saving the Ocean with Carl Safina. His writing appears in The New York Times, Audubon, Orion, and other periodicals and on the Web at National Geographic News and Views, Huffington Post, and CNN.com.
He lives on Long Island, New York with his wife Patricia, the two best beach-running dogs in the world, some chickens, a couple of parrots, and Frankie the kingsnake.
He lives on Long Island, New York with his wife Patricia, the two best beach-running dogs in the world, some chickens, a couple of parrots, and Frankie the kingsnake.
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November 20, 2016
A wonderful tour of how animals think and feel and plea to afford them respect as beings worthy of better stewardship of their fate by the planet’s masters. You are in reliable hands with a respected ecologist and conservationist as long as you factor in that animal behavior and brain science are outside his field of expertise. The societies of elephants, wolves, killer whales get the lion’s share of focus, enhanced by the author’s long forays with field scientists who have monitoring their societies for decades. There are many forays into discoveries from study of chimps, bonobos, birds, and even reptiles and insects to enhance his themes. For elephants we spend time in a park in Kenya , for wolves it is in Yellowstone National Park, and for killer whales the locus is Washington State. Another section, “Whines and Pet Peeves” cuts across species as it takes laboratory scientist and philosophers to task for sophistry and reticence to accede to the obvious that a number of animals possess minds and depths of feelings comparable in richness and validity to the precious cargo of vaunted humanity, top dogs of the earth.
Over a dozen essay-chapters for each of the three featured species on various topics makes for a nice level of depth and a delightful spectrum of examples of the amazing ways these animals are geniuses in their own lives and sensitive beings in their own ways. It was a great catch-up for me as I haven’t read much on animal behavior studies since syntheses by Jane Goodall on chimps, John Lilly on dolphins, and Barry Lopez on wolves some decades ago (recent exceptions being De Waal on primate empathy and Sapolsky on baboon societies). In example after example, we are shown how acts of individuals from these species bear resemblance in multiple ways to human behaviors associated with the full range of emotions: love, empathy, joy, envy, jealousy, pride, shame, pity, grief, and likely awe and magnanimity. One can never know what their true feelings are like since they can’t speak, but close analogy to the human forms is a simpler, even scientific, supposition compared to the alternative that they emerged in exalted form in humans and limited forms only in our “higher” primate cousins. Besides, these emotions as well as exalted cognitive feats of humans are often beyond characterization by language and mean different things to different people (e.g. is love more a state of freedom or dependence?). Just as with human families or tribes, elephant, wolf, and killer whale counterparts can be flexible in composition between strictly biological members or outsiders adopted into them.
For the people watching them over the years, the animals’ individual personalities shine through no less than what we experience with our own pets. And their personalities seem obviously critical to their success or challenges in the social roles they assume. Yes, we get a special amplification of social memory and abstract communication with human language, but is this capability a difference in degree or a qualitative leap above particularly brainy animals? Though animals may have a pretty extensive range of communication calls and signals and primitive levels of syntax and generativity when taught symbolic modes of communicating with humans, what stands out is their ability to “read” each others’ intentions and feelings without words. And touch is a persistent and universal mode of sharing emotions and social cohesion among the three species (as well as dolphins and primates). Of course nobody really knows what is conveyed in the rich sonar and aural productions of Cetaceans, the howling of wolves, the recently discovered complex vocalizations of elephants in the low frequency range below human hearing, and the repertoire of gestures being uncovered among gorillas and other apes.
A case of a female Yellowstone wolf with a bullying, despotic personality being exiled from the pack by her own sisters
The careers of particular animals conveyed by Safina come off as characters in a history or story. For example, one wolf, Number Six, seems in every way “The Prefect Wolf.” She successfully manages the largest packs ever known and with such harmony fights are rare. She is such a hunter that she singlehandedly killed two elk in one day. When an intruder is cornered in defeat, she dispenses mercy by letting him go instead of meting out a fatal attack common to others in the same situation. And we learn of one elephant matriarch who has been the leader of the herd for decades, maintaining lifelong bonds with her children. She uses essential knowledge of their world for navigating long foraging treks to known sources of water and food at particular times of the year, and the skills of marshalling her family to successfully address dangers to young or infirm members in the face of predators. Similar stories and observations apply to examples of the female leaders of a wolf pack and a killer whale pod, but longevity of killer whales puts them more in line with the elephants for their memory as a cultural repository and survival benefit for the family.
A female killer whale in Peuget Sound playing with her three-year daughter. Children are rare in this salmon eating species in decline, and this one was killed accidentally by naval practice gunnery or demolition
The efforts to get to know these species in their natural state in the wild are confounded by stresses and losses due to impacts of mankind. More and more what gets observed by their long-term monitors is angle both on pathology and resilient adaptation to changes in their environment, food sources, and unnecessary deaths of key family leaders. The social devastation to family structure and survival is covered in examples from each species in the aftermath a losses of the matriarch. In the case of elephant and wolf examples, the parks in Kenya and Yellowstone are too small to protect species whose range goes outside park and, for elephants, do not a sufficient barrier to poaching. The continuing decline of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest reflects loss of their salmon prey, pollution such as lead, boating or fishing accidents, or adverse impacts of naval operations such as from sonar blasts or demolition (as many as ten species specialize in different food prey, such as seals among their Arctic cousins). As we can see clearly from Safina’s narrative the loss of key family members can mean death to a whole family from the disruption of missing leadership, cultural knowledge, and the emotional center for adults and infants alike. He emphasizes how we need to be aware of these consequences and hopefully get more serious about halting the continuing decline in each species’ populations still going after reductions of 90% or more in their numbers and ranges over the last couple of hundred years.
Safina’s writing is accessible to general readers and jargon free. For example, he refrains from even using words like ecological niche or altruism. I applaud his deflating claims of neuroscience of accounting for unique capabilities of humans, although at one point he countenances with objection claims that over-aggressiveness, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and autism are caused by deficiencies in neural systems using serotonin as a transmitter to account for. Usually he is honest and humble on areas of speculation. I appreciated a lot his pondering of the special consciousness elephants seem to have about death and the meaning of incredible restraint among killer whales in never attacking humans. But I had the most pleasure with his handling of the discovery that wolves and dogs are the same species and theories that wolves domesticated themselves in adapting to cooperation with humans, in the process selecting for genes that promote more social, less aggressive juvenile psychology at maturity (technically termed “neoteny”, though not used by him ). Here’s some of his line of thinking as an example of his accessible discourse:
It’s been said that no two species are more alike than wolves and humans. If you watch wolves not just in all their beauty and adaptability but in all their brutality, it’s hard to escape that conclusion. … Living as we do in family packs, fending off the human wolves among us, we can easily recognize in real wolves their social dilemmas and status quests. No wonder Native Americans saw wolves as a sibling spirit.
Consider the similarities between male wolves and men. They’re quite striking. Males of very few species directly enhance the survival of females or young year-round. …
Helping procure food year-round, bringing food to babies, helping raise young to full maturity over several years, and defending females and offspring against all individuals who threaten their safety is a very rare package to find in a male. Human males and wolf males—that’s about it. And of the two, the more dependably faithful isn’t us. Male wolves more reliably stick with the program, helping raise young and actually helping females survive.
Chimpanzees seem much closer to us, but male chimps don’t help feed babies or bring food back to the home site. Wolves and humans can understand each other better. That’s one reason why we invited wolves, instead of chimpanzees , into our lives. Wolves and dogs and us; it’s not surprising that we found one another. We deserve one another. We were made for one another.
…A wolf knows who to protect and who to attack and how to defend to the death. That obsession for distinguishing friend from foe is one we share. It’s why we since deep antiquity we have viewed wolves as everything from guards to gods.
To watch wild wolves is to recognize a kindred creature by turns riveting, horrifying, and admirable. It’s also to see how many of our dogs’ tendencies and talents were fully formed in the wild, and remain intact in our homes.
In dogs, we’ve bred the people we wish we could be: loyal, hardworking, watchful, fiercely protective, intuitive, sensitive, affectionate, helpful to those in need. No matter how they originated, their feelings are real to them. Your dog genuinely loves you, as you, in your domesticated state, activating the deep, old parts of your brain, love your dog.
Though Safina does take humans to task for arrogance and blundering in his Biblical dominion over animals, he does find hopefulness in the progress of our self-domestication toward a more pro-social biology. He doesn’t delve into the debate over the cultural versus biological bases of human murder and war. I close with some inspiring thoughts of his about underpinnings of peace in our nature:
Aren’t we, by fits and starts, even through the darkness of unspeakable human horrors, always searching for peace, always seeking more perfect ways of taming ourselves? Self-domestication does indeed seem part of the human program. The process of becoming more civil is called civilization.
…What is certain: our view of ourselves as post-evolutionary, purely cultural creatures, standing outside selection pressures and in control of our fate is wrong. We tend to think that humans evolved, then stopped evolving and started culture. Far from it. The onset of agriculture and the flowering cultures of civilization were themselves enormous changes in the human environment, massively altering selective pressures. Pressures to maintain a hunter’s size and strength relaxed, while pressure to behave cooperatively, expand social skills, and suppress violent urges intensified.
Over a dozen essay-chapters for each of the three featured species on various topics makes for a nice level of depth and a delightful spectrum of examples of the amazing ways these animals are geniuses in their own lives and sensitive beings in their own ways. It was a great catch-up for me as I haven’t read much on animal behavior studies since syntheses by Jane Goodall on chimps, John Lilly on dolphins, and Barry Lopez on wolves some decades ago (recent exceptions being De Waal on primate empathy and Sapolsky on baboon societies). In example after example, we are shown how acts of individuals from these species bear resemblance in multiple ways to human behaviors associated with the full range of emotions: love, empathy, joy, envy, jealousy, pride, shame, pity, grief, and likely awe and magnanimity. One can never know what their true feelings are like since they can’t speak, but close analogy to the human forms is a simpler, even scientific, supposition compared to the alternative that they emerged in exalted form in humans and limited forms only in our “higher” primate cousins. Besides, these emotions as well as exalted cognitive feats of humans are often beyond characterization by language and mean different things to different people (e.g. is love more a state of freedom or dependence?). Just as with human families or tribes, elephant, wolf, and killer whale counterparts can be flexible in composition between strictly biological members or outsiders adopted into them.
For the people watching them over the years, the animals’ individual personalities shine through no less than what we experience with our own pets. And their personalities seem obviously critical to their success or challenges in the social roles they assume. Yes, we get a special amplification of social memory and abstract communication with human language, but is this capability a difference in degree or a qualitative leap above particularly brainy animals? Though animals may have a pretty extensive range of communication calls and signals and primitive levels of syntax and generativity when taught symbolic modes of communicating with humans, what stands out is their ability to “read” each others’ intentions and feelings without words. And touch is a persistent and universal mode of sharing emotions and social cohesion among the three species (as well as dolphins and primates). Of course nobody really knows what is conveyed in the rich sonar and aural productions of Cetaceans, the howling of wolves, the recently discovered complex vocalizations of elephants in the low frequency range below human hearing, and the repertoire of gestures being uncovered among gorillas and other apes.
A case of a female Yellowstone wolf with a bullying, despotic personality being exiled from the pack by her own sisters
The careers of particular animals conveyed by Safina come off as characters in a history or story. For example, one wolf, Number Six, seems in every way “The Prefect Wolf.” She successfully manages the largest packs ever known and with such harmony fights are rare. She is such a hunter that she singlehandedly killed two elk in one day. When an intruder is cornered in defeat, she dispenses mercy by letting him go instead of meting out a fatal attack common to others in the same situation. And we learn of one elephant matriarch who has been the leader of the herd for decades, maintaining lifelong bonds with her children. She uses essential knowledge of their world for navigating long foraging treks to known sources of water and food at particular times of the year, and the skills of marshalling her family to successfully address dangers to young or infirm members in the face of predators. Similar stories and observations apply to examples of the female leaders of a wolf pack and a killer whale pod, but longevity of killer whales puts them more in line with the elephants for their memory as a cultural repository and survival benefit for the family.
A female killer whale in Peuget Sound playing with her three-year daughter. Children are rare in this salmon eating species in decline, and this one was killed accidentally by naval practice gunnery or demolition
The efforts to get to know these species in their natural state in the wild are confounded by stresses and losses due to impacts of mankind. More and more what gets observed by their long-term monitors is angle both on pathology and resilient adaptation to changes in their environment, food sources, and unnecessary deaths of key family leaders. The social devastation to family structure and survival is covered in examples from each species in the aftermath a losses of the matriarch. In the case of elephant and wolf examples, the parks in Kenya and Yellowstone are too small to protect species whose range goes outside park and, for elephants, do not a sufficient barrier to poaching. The continuing decline of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest reflects loss of their salmon prey, pollution such as lead, boating or fishing accidents, or adverse impacts of naval operations such as from sonar blasts or demolition (as many as ten species specialize in different food prey, such as seals among their Arctic cousins). As we can see clearly from Safina’s narrative the loss of key family members can mean death to a whole family from the disruption of missing leadership, cultural knowledge, and the emotional center for adults and infants alike. He emphasizes how we need to be aware of these consequences and hopefully get more serious about halting the continuing decline in each species’ populations still going after reductions of 90% or more in their numbers and ranges over the last couple of hundred years.
Safina’s writing is accessible to general readers and jargon free. For example, he refrains from even using words like ecological niche or altruism. I applaud his deflating claims of neuroscience of accounting for unique capabilities of humans, although at one point he countenances with objection claims that over-aggressiveness, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and autism are caused by deficiencies in neural systems using serotonin as a transmitter to account for. Usually he is honest and humble on areas of speculation. I appreciated a lot his pondering of the special consciousness elephants seem to have about death and the meaning of incredible restraint among killer whales in never attacking humans. But I had the most pleasure with his handling of the discovery that wolves and dogs are the same species and theories that wolves domesticated themselves in adapting to cooperation with humans, in the process selecting for genes that promote more social, less aggressive juvenile psychology at maturity (technically termed “neoteny”, though not used by him ). Here’s some of his line of thinking as an example of his accessible discourse:
It’s been said that no two species are more alike than wolves and humans. If you watch wolves not just in all their beauty and adaptability but in all their brutality, it’s hard to escape that conclusion. … Living as we do in family packs, fending off the human wolves among us, we can easily recognize in real wolves their social dilemmas and status quests. No wonder Native Americans saw wolves as a sibling spirit.
Consider the similarities between male wolves and men. They’re quite striking. Males of very few species directly enhance the survival of females or young year-round. …
Helping procure food year-round, bringing food to babies, helping raise young to full maturity over several years, and defending females and offspring against all individuals who threaten their safety is a very rare package to find in a male. Human males and wolf males—that’s about it. And of the two, the more dependably faithful isn’t us. Male wolves more reliably stick with the program, helping raise young and actually helping females survive.
Chimpanzees seem much closer to us, but male chimps don’t help feed babies or bring food back to the home site. Wolves and humans can understand each other better. That’s one reason why we invited wolves, instead of chimpanzees , into our lives. Wolves and dogs and us; it’s not surprising that we found one another. We deserve one another. We were made for one another.
…A wolf knows who to protect and who to attack and how to defend to the death. That obsession for distinguishing friend from foe is one we share. It’s why we since deep antiquity we have viewed wolves as everything from guards to gods.
To watch wild wolves is to recognize a kindred creature by turns riveting, horrifying, and admirable. It’s also to see how many of our dogs’ tendencies and talents were fully formed in the wild, and remain intact in our homes.
In dogs, we’ve bred the people we wish we could be: loyal, hardworking, watchful, fiercely protective, intuitive, sensitive, affectionate, helpful to those in need. No matter how they originated, their feelings are real to them. Your dog genuinely loves you, as you, in your domesticated state, activating the deep, old parts of your brain, love your dog.
Though Safina does take humans to task for arrogance and blundering in his Biblical dominion over animals, he does find hopefulness in the progress of our self-domestication toward a more pro-social biology. He doesn’t delve into the debate over the cultural versus biological bases of human murder and war. I close with some inspiring thoughts of his about underpinnings of peace in our nature:
Aren’t we, by fits and starts, even through the darkness of unspeakable human horrors, always searching for peace, always seeking more perfect ways of taming ourselves? Self-domestication does indeed seem part of the human program. The process of becoming more civil is called civilization.
…What is certain: our view of ourselves as post-evolutionary, purely cultural creatures, standing outside selection pressures and in control of our fate is wrong. We tend to think that humans evolved, then stopped evolving and started culture. Far from it. The onset of agriculture and the flowering cultures of civilization were themselves enormous changes in the human environment, massively altering selective pressures. Pressures to maintain a hunter’s size and strength relaxed, while pressure to behave cooperatively, expand social skills, and suppress violent urges intensified.
September 7, 2024
this book didn't just eat, it devoured. another win for me finding a book i've never heard of for 50 cents at a used bookstore and giving it a shot because WOW
when i was a kid forced to go to the school library during one of my english periods in elementary school, i beelined toward the animals non-fiction section because at that age i couldn't be bothered with fiction. and reaching for a book like this really reminded me of that part of me that must still exist latent somewhere. this book really helped stoke my curiosity about animals, and it's crazy because carl is so right - we share our planet with SO much other life but are so concerned with ourselves that we hardly consider their thoughts and feelings (which science still insists do not exist)
this book is kind of like its own internal trilogy: there's three sections on elephants, wolves and whales. the selection felt random at first to me, but by finishing this, i totally get why the researchers cited in this book have been passionate watchers and lovers of those species all their lives. elephants, wolves and whales are SO cool!!!!
understanding how human-like animals can be and how we've absolutely destroyed their habitats and our world in general was devastating. but gaining the knowledge that we're not the only social animals that walk the earth (or swim the sea?) was so fascinating and this book rightfully changed my mind about how smart certain species are, even though they certainly can't talk or rule the world or anything the way men claim to.
anyway i've started waxing poetic but even though this book took me nearly half the year to read, it was soooo good. i tabbed so many quotes from this and said "WHEW! Carl has bars" so many times when he hit a certain section out of the park. although this book could be scientific, it was also written SO beautifully so you could picture yourself alongside the researchers, observing these animals.
i absolutely want to read more from carl in the future and had the best time reading this. highly recommend if you're at all interested in animal behavior or want to think about the world from less of a human perspective.
when i was a kid forced to go to the school library during one of my english periods in elementary school, i beelined toward the animals non-fiction section because at that age i couldn't be bothered with fiction. and reaching for a book like this really reminded me of that part of me that must still exist latent somewhere. this book really helped stoke my curiosity about animals, and it's crazy because carl is so right - we share our planet with SO much other life but are so concerned with ourselves that we hardly consider their thoughts and feelings (which science still insists do not exist)
this book is kind of like its own internal trilogy: there's three sections on elephants, wolves and whales. the selection felt random at first to me, but by finishing this, i totally get why the researchers cited in this book have been passionate watchers and lovers of those species all their lives. elephants, wolves and whales are SO cool!!!!
understanding how human-like animals can be and how we've absolutely destroyed their habitats and our world in general was devastating. but gaining the knowledge that we're not the only social animals that walk the earth (or swim the sea?) was so fascinating and this book rightfully changed my mind about how smart certain species are, even though they certainly can't talk or rule the world or anything the way men claim to.
anyway i've started waxing poetic but even though this book took me nearly half the year to read, it was soooo good. i tabbed so many quotes from this and said "WHEW! Carl has bars" so many times when he hit a certain section out of the park. although this book could be scientific, it was also written SO beautifully so you could picture yourself alongside the researchers, observing these animals.
i absolutely want to read more from carl in the future and had the best time reading this. highly recommend if you're at all interested in animal behavior or want to think about the world from less of a human perspective.
August 2, 2019
Review to come. Do I love it....or do I like it a lot? I do definitely want everyone to read this book.
When I think about the book, I automatically say, "I liked that A LOT", so four stars.
When I chose to read this book I thought I was going to get something like The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter than You Think which I gave four stars, but rather than concentrating solely on dogs the focus would cover many animals. Carl Safina's book is wider in scope and completely different in focus. Hare's book is very good, but Safina's is better, in my view! Hare's book draws conclusions by looking at particular experiments, stipulating how they were carried out and analyzing their results. It is a book about the latest scientific studies on dogs’ cognitive abilities.
Some of the conclusions drawn in reference to dog behavior are briefly referred to in Safina's book. Safina's book is less about scientific experiments. Safina's book is based on studies of animals in the wild and the resultant conclusions that can be drawn. At first, statements made had me asking, “Where is your proof?!” By the end I was totally in sync with what the author was stating.
There are lengthy sections devoted to the study of elephants, wolves and killer whales, alternately known as orcas (Orcinus orca). They belong to the dolphin family, are toothed and are its largest member. Take one guess what their name implies, yet they do not hurt human beings! I found that revealed about the whales and the elephants utterly fascinating. That about the wolves I found a bit long-winded. We follow the fission of a wolf pack. There are shorter sections on other, widely varied animals (some examples being chimpanzees, bonobos, hyenas, falcons, dogs and bats), the point being to show their emotional and intellectual capacity. We are an animal too and we share a common bond. The author vividly exemplifies how we are similar and how we differ. What is striking are the cognitive and emotional similarities while our outward appearances so differ.
The author goes a step further and proposes ideas that are controversial - on self-domestication, anthropomorphism, empathy, intelligence and understanding. It is here the book gets MOST interesting! Great for lively discussions. I like that he steps back and questions where the facts and evidence seem to point while at the same time stressing what remains unknown. After reading this book, one look at animals, even insects, fish and turtles with a new perspective. It is much more difficult to be cruel to a thinking and emotional creature.
Authors should NOT read their own books! The author does that here. Yes, I could understand what was said, but often he reads too fast. Way too fast. HE is at home with the ideas presented and to him they are not new. Speaking for myself, I had to stop and consider what exactly self-domestication implies and what are its consequences. There are concepts that must be thought about to fully absorb their significance. There is one section concerning some of the author’s pet peeves, an example being the mirror mark test, also known as the mirror self-recognition test (MSR). He was so very angry he simply couldn’t hold himself back; listening became a difficult task. It was hard to keep up with him! I was also disappointed when different animal calls were spoken. In an audiobook it would have been perfect to let us hear them!
The author is a famed conservationist, a marine biologist and has a PhD in ecology from Rutgers University. Reading this book was fascinating due to its depth of information and the wisdom I found in the lines. Here is one quote:
If the world can no longer afford the luxury of natural beauty, then it will be overcome by its ugliness. …..In an entirely man-made world there can be no room for man either.
He dares to ask uncomfortable questions about human behavior. He shows us the nonsensicality of assumptions we have relied on in the past. He shows us that man must begin to work with nature in a moral and ethical manner
When I think about the book, I automatically say, "I liked that A LOT", so four stars.
When I chose to read this book I thought I was going to get something like The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter than You Think which I gave four stars, but rather than concentrating solely on dogs the focus would cover many animals. Carl Safina's book is wider in scope and completely different in focus. Hare's book is very good, but Safina's is better, in my view! Hare's book draws conclusions by looking at particular experiments, stipulating how they were carried out and analyzing their results. It is a book about the latest scientific studies on dogs’ cognitive abilities.
Some of the conclusions drawn in reference to dog behavior are briefly referred to in Safina's book. Safina's book is less about scientific experiments. Safina's book is based on studies of animals in the wild and the resultant conclusions that can be drawn. At first, statements made had me asking, “Where is your proof?!” By the end I was totally in sync with what the author was stating.
There are lengthy sections devoted to the study of elephants, wolves and killer whales, alternately known as orcas (Orcinus orca). They belong to the dolphin family, are toothed and are its largest member. Take one guess what their name implies, yet they do not hurt human beings! I found that revealed about the whales and the elephants utterly fascinating. That about the wolves I found a bit long-winded. We follow the fission of a wolf pack. There are shorter sections on other, widely varied animals (some examples being chimpanzees, bonobos, hyenas, falcons, dogs and bats), the point being to show their emotional and intellectual capacity. We are an animal too and we share a common bond. The author vividly exemplifies how we are similar and how we differ. What is striking are the cognitive and emotional similarities while our outward appearances so differ.
The author goes a step further and proposes ideas that are controversial - on self-domestication, anthropomorphism, empathy, intelligence and understanding. It is here the book gets MOST interesting! Great for lively discussions. I like that he steps back and questions where the facts and evidence seem to point while at the same time stressing what remains unknown. After reading this book, one look at animals, even insects, fish and turtles with a new perspective. It is much more difficult to be cruel to a thinking and emotional creature.
Authors should NOT read their own books! The author does that here. Yes, I could understand what was said, but often he reads too fast. Way too fast. HE is at home with the ideas presented and to him they are not new. Speaking for myself, I had to stop and consider what exactly self-domestication implies and what are its consequences. There are concepts that must be thought about to fully absorb their significance. There is one section concerning some of the author’s pet peeves, an example being the mirror mark test, also known as the mirror self-recognition test (MSR). He was so very angry he simply couldn’t hold himself back; listening became a difficult task. It was hard to keep up with him! I was also disappointed when different animal calls were spoken. In an audiobook it would have been perfect to let us hear them!
The author is a famed conservationist, a marine biologist and has a PhD in ecology from Rutgers University. Reading this book was fascinating due to its depth of information and the wisdom I found in the lines. Here is one quote:
If the world can no longer afford the luxury of natural beauty, then it will be overcome by its ugliness. …..In an entirely man-made world there can be no room for man either.
He dares to ask uncomfortable questions about human behavior. He shows us the nonsensicality of assumptions we have relied on in the past. He shows us that man must begin to work with nature in a moral and ethical manner
May 17, 2021
Nel corso della storia umana, le civiltà si sono protratte nel tempo, sviluppando tecnologie sempre più avanzate, per migliorare, apparentemente, la propria vita. Partiamo dai cacciatori-raccoglitori, all'avvento dell'agricoltura, la pesca... Man mano che le tecnologie si facevano sempre più efficienti e sviluppate, la popolazione umana aumentava a dismisura. Arriviamo ai nostri tempi dove queste innovazioni sono arrivate ad un punto nodale. Davvero continuare ad innovare ed a sviluppare nuove tecnologie sempre più efficienti ci porteranno a più felicità e gioia?
Questo per quanto riguarda noi popolazione umana, ma agli altri esseri viventi sulla faccia della Terra, che cosa è e sta succedendo e succederà?
Nel corso dei millenni, le civiltà umane si sono sempre più allontanate dalla Natura, il contatto vero e proprio sta scomparendo, non ci accorgiamo nemmeno che, con le nostre abitudini, divertimenti e vizi, stiamo decimando le popolazione di altri animali e vegetali. Intere specie sono e stanno scomparendo. Perchè è successo e perchè continuiamo ad essere ciechi di fronte a questo massacro?
Il saggio che ho appena finito di leggere, è diviso i 4 parti e parla più nello specifico di 3 specie di animali: gli elefanti, i lupi e e orche. Ma non solo, vi è un excursus su molti altri animali, per esempio: i bonobo, gli scimpanzè, i topi, gli uccelli ecc...
L'autore del libro, cerca di capire perchè nel corso della storia, gli esseri umani abbiano sempre considerato gli altri animali, come meri oggetti, senza intelligenza, empatia, capacità intuitive ed altro ancora. Così armato di tutto l'entusiasmo e la voglia di capire, l'autore incontra persone che dedicano tutta la loro vita all'osservazione di specifici animali e cercando di carpirne l'essenza. Il risultato è sorprendente, nel senso io non ne avevo dubbi, ma gli altri animali, chi più che meno, chi un modo chi in un altro, hanno una "personalità", anzi direi che hanno caratteristiche uniche e quindi possiamo parlare di individualità.
Alcuni passaggi, anzi molti, sono commoventi e mi hanno emozionato, mi sentivo parte, anch'io, della spedizione alla ricerca del senso della vita!
Davvero straordinario, per l'empatia, per l'esposizione, per gli studi, per la passione e soprattutto per le testimonianze su quanto sono splendidi gli animali... se mai ci soffermassimo ad osservarli, scopriremmo un mondo di particolarità e amore.
Consigliatissimo a chi ha a cuore l'esistenza, la vita!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhhAo...
Questo per quanto riguarda noi popolazione umana, ma agli altri esseri viventi sulla faccia della Terra, che cosa è e sta succedendo e succederà?
Nel corso dei millenni, le civiltà umane si sono sempre più allontanate dalla Natura, il contatto vero e proprio sta scomparendo, non ci accorgiamo nemmeno che, con le nostre abitudini, divertimenti e vizi, stiamo decimando le popolazione di altri animali e vegetali. Intere specie sono e stanno scomparendo. Perchè è successo e perchè continuiamo ad essere ciechi di fronte a questo massacro?
Il saggio che ho appena finito di leggere, è diviso i 4 parti e parla più nello specifico di 3 specie di animali: gli elefanti, i lupi e e orche. Ma non solo, vi è un excursus su molti altri animali, per esempio: i bonobo, gli scimpanzè, i topi, gli uccelli ecc...
L'autore del libro, cerca di capire perchè nel corso della storia, gli esseri umani abbiano sempre considerato gli altri animali, come meri oggetti, senza intelligenza, empatia, capacità intuitive ed altro ancora. Così armato di tutto l'entusiasmo e la voglia di capire, l'autore incontra persone che dedicano tutta la loro vita all'osservazione di specifici animali e cercando di carpirne l'essenza. Il risultato è sorprendente, nel senso io non ne avevo dubbi, ma gli altri animali, chi più che meno, chi un modo chi in un altro, hanno una "personalità", anzi direi che hanno caratteristiche uniche e quindi possiamo parlare di individualità.
Alcuni passaggi, anzi molti, sono commoventi e mi hanno emozionato, mi sentivo parte, anch'io, della spedizione alla ricerca del senso della vita!
Davvero straordinario, per l'empatia, per l'esposizione, per gli studi, per la passione e soprattutto per le testimonianze su quanto sono splendidi gli animali... se mai ci soffermassimo ad osservarli, scopriremmo un mondo di particolarità e amore.
Consigliatissimo a chi ha a cuore l'esistenza, la vita!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhhAo...
July 5, 2023
“They often lived, right out in front of us, what seemed like epic lives.”
This quote begins the chapter on wolves. And yet, it describes so much more. This book is about the many observations and discoveries and intimate views of animal behavior to challenge the boundaries between humans and non-human animals.
As humans we find ourselves so superior. And yes, we can be. But we lose sight of the givingness and gorgeousness of the natural world of animals. And what we can gain and learn from them.
How do we as humans live epic lives?
Let this question sit with you for a moment.
I will move on with the review of this book.
Because this book truly is beautiful. And moving. Because it allows us to see animals as intelligent beings with inner lives and emotions – even personalities. And those of us who have domestic pets, probably already know this.
But what about those that are in the wild, fending for themselves?
Safina is an ecologist. In this book, he delves into the inner worlds through 4 parts – elephants, wolves, orcas and comparisons to other animals.
He interviews biologists. He conducts field observations. He travels to Africa and Yellowstone National Park, and the Pacific coast between the United States and Canada. He talks to many specialists.
He studies the behaviors and personalities of these animals.
As an example, in the study of the wolves, he notes the different alpha males and females – some ruling their pack calmly, others tyrannically.
And when human hunters kill, they cause collateral damage that reverberates down the social hierarchy breaking up and reshuffling packs, often costing more lives.
Even killer whales know how to teach their young exceptional dietary specialization. They have cooperative hunting techniques and are intensely social, while mothers contribute to the survival of the children. Even grandchildren – well after menopause.
Elephants and wolves even recognize each other well after separation.
Most academics would not consider animals having an emotional capacity, but Safina believes these animals do. This may be controversial in nature. And the author realizes this.
Even though this book may appear academic in nature, it is an exceptional read.
Short chapters. Pictures. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index. Lovely resource.
It is also a heartfelt gem of a book.
This quote begins the chapter on wolves. And yet, it describes so much more. This book is about the many observations and discoveries and intimate views of animal behavior to challenge the boundaries between humans and non-human animals.
As humans we find ourselves so superior. And yes, we can be. But we lose sight of the givingness and gorgeousness of the natural world of animals. And what we can gain and learn from them.
How do we as humans live epic lives?
Let this question sit with you for a moment.
I will move on with the review of this book.
Because this book truly is beautiful. And moving. Because it allows us to see animals as intelligent beings with inner lives and emotions – even personalities. And those of us who have domestic pets, probably already know this.
But what about those that are in the wild, fending for themselves?
Safina is an ecologist. In this book, he delves into the inner worlds through 4 parts – elephants, wolves, orcas and comparisons to other animals.
He interviews biologists. He conducts field observations. He travels to Africa and Yellowstone National Park, and the Pacific coast between the United States and Canada. He talks to many specialists.
He studies the behaviors and personalities of these animals.
As an example, in the study of the wolves, he notes the different alpha males and females – some ruling their pack calmly, others tyrannically.
And when human hunters kill, they cause collateral damage that reverberates down the social hierarchy breaking up and reshuffling packs, often costing more lives.
Even killer whales know how to teach their young exceptional dietary specialization. They have cooperative hunting techniques and are intensely social, while mothers contribute to the survival of the children. Even grandchildren – well after menopause.
Elephants and wolves even recognize each other well after separation.
Most academics would not consider animals having an emotional capacity, but Safina believes these animals do. This may be controversial in nature. And the author realizes this.
Even though this book may appear academic in nature, it is an exceptional read.
Short chapters. Pictures. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index. Lovely resource.
It is also a heartfelt gem of a book.
April 23, 2015
Humans are human- and we are also animals, with our physical lives on a continuum with other animals.
Safina is persuasive enough to convince anyone but the most rigid that "mere animals" share much with us, in terms of intelligence, emotions, sense of humor, and individuality- not to mention social groups and ties.
I thought it an excellent point that , regarding many of the "tests" for animal intelligence, etc.- most humans would not pass them. Dogs are stupid because they can be fooled? What about humans victimized by con artists? And, OK, my cat is not going to write a symphony... but then, neither am I!
This book is beautifully written, and brings many of the other denizens of our world alive.
Highly recommended, both for people interested in the other animals that share our planet, and for sf authors interested in writing persuasive aliens.
I received this book in exchange for writing a fair review, from LibraryThing.
Safina is persuasive enough to convince anyone but the most rigid that "mere animals" share much with us, in terms of intelligence, emotions, sense of humor, and individuality- not to mention social groups and ties.
I thought it an excellent point that , regarding many of the "tests" for animal intelligence, etc.- most humans would not pass them. Dogs are stupid because they can be fooled? What about humans victimized by con artists? And, OK, my cat is not going to write a symphony... but then, neither am I!
This book is beautifully written, and brings many of the other denizens of our world alive.
Highly recommended, both for people interested in the other animals that share our planet, and for sf authors interested in writing persuasive aliens.
I received this book in exchange for writing a fair review, from LibraryThing.
November 6, 2015
I think a person's reaction to this book will probably be based on on the style of writing they prefer. When I read non-fiction I am hoping for a concise and professional approach. That doesn't mean that there can't be some humor and some reflection, so long as it doesn't overpower the purpose of the book. The author of this book though seems overly concerned with trying to embed his personality into the pages. There are constant off-the-wall reflections and comments, numerous one and two word sentences, and long circular reflections. It felt almost as if I was reading a YouTube video. We could remove most of that extra stuff, keep the animal stories and important information, and reduce the book by 50%.
That is not to say this was not a good book. For those who prefer a much more conversational approach this book may have even been pleasant to read. And for anyone interested in animal societies and animal ways of being this book is certainly worth the effort it may take to push through it. Otherwise it may be a better idea to watch a PBS Nature special on Netflix.
That is not to say this was not a good book. For those who prefer a much more conversational approach this book may have even been pleasant to read. And for anyone interested in animal societies and animal ways of being this book is certainly worth the effort it may take to push through it. Otherwise it may be a better idea to watch a PBS Nature special on Netflix.
September 21, 2015
Dreadful. Contains lines like, "One time my friend..." followed by a claim that this one anecdote tells us something about an entire species. Very light on science, heavy on speculation. If this were marketed as a book of observations about animals, it might get a higher rating. But we were promised an explanation of what animals think and feel, not what the author thinks and feels about animals.
October 8, 2015
I took a long time to read Beyond Words, not because I didn't like it but because I had to let each piece sink in. We learn so much about animal brains but also much about the human brain. The first section will make you fall in love with elephants, so it was hard to read because every time I read the news, more elephants had been slain for their ivory. Just two days ago I read where six elephants were killed with cyanide, CYANIDE!, for their tusks. And orcas are so smart, so loving to their families, especially their children, and grieve hardily when one dies or a baby is kidnapped for amusment park shows.
The military is allowed to bomb in the Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary. Bomb in a sanctuary! Every time it happens dead whales are found with hemorrhages all over their bodies.
But this book is also filled with joy. Readers will grow to love the families that are followed here, whales, elephants, and wolves. They do think and they are intelligent. Beyond Words will make you laugh in delight but will also make you shed a few tears.
The military is allowed to bomb in the Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary. Bomb in a sanctuary! Every time it happens dead whales are found with hemorrhages all over their bodies.
But this book is also filled with joy. Readers will grow to love the families that are followed here, whales, elephants, and wolves. They do think and they are intelligent. Beyond Words will make you laugh in delight but will also make you shed a few tears.
July 10, 2017
So often when I recommend a non fiction book I like it because it reads like a novel, and not like a textbook. Although textbooks can provide you with a lot of information, often it's difficult to retain because it's just a long list of facts and data and no easy way to have substantial retention.
This author goes above and beyond anything I've read from a non fiction book, this not only read like a novel, this read like a poetic work of art. Like, this guy rivals Josiah Bancroft with his use of simile and metaphor, the way he wrote sucked you into the moments he was living. He went to Africa to study with the experts to write this book, and it could not have turned out any better.
If you have a love of animals, get this book.
If you've ever wondered how unique humans are with their emotions, family relations, problem solving, and intelligence get this book.
If you've ever sat and admired Discovery Channel, been at the zoo and stared at the animals wondering what they were thinking or feeling, get this book.
If you've studied Ethology (animal behavior) Biology or Zoology and all your life you've been told it goes against science to "anthropomorphize" get this book and realize why this is an archaic way of thinking.
If you believe in evolution, you'll know that nothing just springs out of no where, nature and biology build on itself. Yes, there are random mutations, but they are random mutation for *pre-existing genetic structure*. A mouse will never randomly mutate and have wings for example., it's not in it's background dna, it's not possible. However, sometimes humans are born with tails, because we do evolve from animals that have tails.
So, where did our emotions come from, where did our intelligence come from? It was built off the backbone of evolution, we are not supremely unique in our ability to form bonds with other individuals of the same species. We are not unique in our family ties. We are not unique with our intellegence. We may have capitolized on our large brains in ways other species haven't, but to assume other animals have *none* of those qualities in any way is ludicrous. It was so taboo for the longest time for any animal behaviorist to suggest there were emotions and feelings in other animals it could be a career ending paper to put forth that maybe we aren't alone in this.
This book explores what possibilities lie in the brains of other animals, and what evidence we have for intelligence in other species.
Elephants are one of my favorite animals of all time, and this book opens with the author in Africa working with one of the leading experts in the field - she's been there for over 40 years and has so much experience it boggles the brain. Reading about the herds and how they are structured was so captivating and endearing I was helpless to stop reading, but I wanted to take it slow and absorb every word.
If you've never had any of the above interests, pick this book up anyway and find a new passion in life.
http://weatherwaxreport.blog
This author goes above and beyond anything I've read from a non fiction book, this not only read like a novel, this read like a poetic work of art. Like, this guy rivals Josiah Bancroft with his use of simile and metaphor, the way he wrote sucked you into the moments he was living. He went to Africa to study with the experts to write this book, and it could not have turned out any better.
If you have a love of animals, get this book.
If you've ever wondered how unique humans are with their emotions, family relations, problem solving, and intelligence get this book.
If you've ever sat and admired Discovery Channel, been at the zoo and stared at the animals wondering what they were thinking or feeling, get this book.
If you've studied Ethology (animal behavior) Biology or Zoology and all your life you've been told it goes against science to "anthropomorphize" get this book and realize why this is an archaic way of thinking.
If you believe in evolution, you'll know that nothing just springs out of no where, nature and biology build on itself. Yes, there are random mutations, but they are random mutation for *pre-existing genetic structure*. A mouse will never randomly mutate and have wings for example., it's not in it's background dna, it's not possible. However, sometimes humans are born with tails, because we do evolve from animals that have tails.
So, where did our emotions come from, where did our intelligence come from? It was built off the backbone of evolution, we are not supremely unique in our ability to form bonds with other individuals of the same species. We are not unique in our family ties. We are not unique with our intellegence. We may have capitolized on our large brains in ways other species haven't, but to assume other animals have *none* of those qualities in any way is ludicrous. It was so taboo for the longest time for any animal behaviorist to suggest there were emotions and feelings in other animals it could be a career ending paper to put forth that maybe we aren't alone in this.
This book explores what possibilities lie in the brains of other animals, and what evidence we have for intelligence in other species.
Elephants are one of my favorite animals of all time, and this book opens with the author in Africa working with one of the leading experts in the field - she's been there for over 40 years and has so much experience it boggles the brain. Reading about the herds and how they are structured was so captivating and endearing I was helpless to stop reading, but I wanted to take it slow and absorb every word.
If you've never had any of the above interests, pick this book up anyway and find a new passion in life.
http://weatherwaxreport.blog
February 25, 2016
Carl Safina, an author, professor and ecologist, presents us with his newest work "Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel (2015)", shedding some light on the mysteries of animal actions and behaviors within their own societies, and their interactions to the human world as well.
The book will take the readers in a journey to the forests, valleys and oceans, where they can literally live among the elephants, wolves, dogs, birds, chimpanzees, bats, dolphins and whales. The author, and so does the evidence, portray these animals not like any other animals, but as individuals. Through a collection of observations by him and his fellow researchers, Safina touches the capability of animals to feel, to sympathize, to grieve, to help and seek help, or even to punish. How elephants feel the loss of a beloved, and even cover the corpse of a family member with dirt and tree branches, how the alpha wolf travels to the coyotes den, mascaraing them because they injured her pride, or how female dolphins play some seduction tricks on males to rescue a trapped friend who is not interested in mating with the hungry males, are some of many examples to the existence of conciseness within animal minds. Safina also highlights astonishing acts of intelligence that may not cross our minds; things we might have thought only us are capable of doing.
What is really interesting is that those scientists, when explaining how an animal does something, they refer to them with names; Ella, Treisa, Grace, or even numbers like 06, or 755. These names obtain, through the chain of events of their lives, certain personalities. This is the message the author wants to deliver: there is no "wolves do this" and "elephants do that"; each animal is an individual. Some Show toughness, shyness, or laziness, while others are simply playful and joyful. THEY ARE DIFFERENT.
The book will take the readers in a journey to the forests, valleys and oceans, where they can literally live among the elephants, wolves, dogs, birds, chimpanzees, bats, dolphins and whales. The author, and so does the evidence, portray these animals not like any other animals, but as individuals. Through a collection of observations by him and his fellow researchers, Safina touches the capability of animals to feel, to sympathize, to grieve, to help and seek help, or even to punish. How elephants feel the loss of a beloved, and even cover the corpse of a family member with dirt and tree branches, how the alpha wolf travels to the coyotes den, mascaraing them because they injured her pride, or how female dolphins play some seduction tricks on males to rescue a trapped friend who is not interested in mating with the hungry males, are some of many examples to the existence of conciseness within animal minds. Safina also highlights astonishing acts of intelligence that may not cross our minds; things we might have thought only us are capable of doing.
What is really interesting is that those scientists, when explaining how an animal does something, they refer to them with names; Ella, Treisa, Grace, or even numbers like 06, or 755. These names obtain, through the chain of events of their lives, certain personalities. This is the message the author wants to deliver: there is no "wolves do this" and "elephants do that"; each animal is an individual. Some Show toughness, shyness, or laziness, while others are simply playful and joyful. THEY ARE DIFFERENT.
April 17, 2019
Yes I've read lots on the general subject before. And yes this is a long book. But I'm glad I'm making time for it because:
1. it's almost like four books in one, with elephants, wolves, and killer whales, plus an intermission to explore the validity of concepts like 'theory of mind' & 'mirror neurons' &etc.;
2. each section has anecdotes + science + pleas to our humanity;
3. it's beautifully written, with a style or 'voice' I've not noticed in other books, and
4. it's newer than almost anything else I've read and therefore gives me new understandings and new shocks at what ppl are *still* doing to harm animals and ecosystems (and, of course, ultimately, ourselves).
I'm ranking it with my other two very favorite books (for laypeople) on the (broad) subject, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals and Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?. I have given other related titles five stars & recommendations, but if you read these three you'll gain the most understanding & satisfaction, imo.
One thing I do disagree with the author about. I'm not looking for something that distinguishes humans from other animals because I feel that we're somehow 'transcendent' and I want science to back up my faith in that. No, I want to know what about us made us screw up so badly. An easy interpretation of the data could be that patriarchy is more aggressive, rapacious, and short-sighted than matriarchy, so that could be part of our problem. Written language might also have something to do with it, I'm afraid....
Heartbreaking book. Dense with concepts and information. A read to be savored. Let it make an impact on you.
"I'm not suggesting that humans and elephants have all the same emotions. Self-loathing seems uniquely human."
"I've seen an orangutan string and wear a bead necklace that no one taught her to make."
Bonobo is pronounced buh-NO-bo.
Wolves have been denigrated as 'wasteful.' Well, true, those so accused don't return to a carcass. No, they have learned that carcasses get poisoned in their absence.
Wolves are again fair game in Wyoming. No license, no limit, no season.
"By moving out of nature and onto farms, we became in a very real sense just another farm animal."
Regarding the experiments about whether an animal can recognize itself in a mirror... deeply flawed... "When a bird, say, attacks the mirror, it does so precisely because it believes the reflection is another individual--not itself.... It demonstrates self-concept. It doesn't 'fail' the mirror test.... It just doesn't understand reflection."
A better definition of species is offered here. "When free-living animals freely interbreed, they're the same species." According to that definition, there may be about a dozen species of killer whales.
Peter Tyack reminds us, "'There are hundreds of tests for human intelligence alone, but we still have trouble even defining human intelligence.'" "Who was more 'intelligent,' Pablo Picasso or Henry Ford?"
And now I get to look through the bibliography. Some books will appeal, even though I know that I shouldn't even bother with older books because so much of what we thought we knew is wrong, and so much new stuff is being learned. But I'll look anyway. And I'll continue to work towards a more vegan diet, and I'll continue to vote for leaders who vote green, and I'll continue to try to get everyone I know off bottled water and disposable tissues & napkins. (Etc.)
1. it's almost like four books in one, with elephants, wolves, and killer whales, plus an intermission to explore the validity of concepts like 'theory of mind' & 'mirror neurons' &etc.;
2. each section has anecdotes + science + pleas to our humanity;
3. it's beautifully written, with a style or 'voice' I've not noticed in other books, and
4. it's newer than almost anything else I've read and therefore gives me new understandings and new shocks at what ppl are *still* doing to harm animals and ecosystems (and, of course, ultimately, ourselves).
I'm ranking it with my other two very favorite books (for laypeople) on the (broad) subject, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals and Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?. I have given other related titles five stars & recommendations, but if you read these three you'll gain the most understanding & satisfaction, imo.
One thing I do disagree with the author about. I'm not looking for something that distinguishes humans from other animals because I feel that we're somehow 'transcendent' and I want science to back up my faith in that. No, I want to know what about us made us screw up so badly. An easy interpretation of the data could be that patriarchy is more aggressive, rapacious, and short-sighted than matriarchy, so that could be part of our problem. Written language might also have something to do with it, I'm afraid....
Heartbreaking book. Dense with concepts and information. A read to be savored. Let it make an impact on you.
"I'm not suggesting that humans and elephants have all the same emotions. Self-loathing seems uniquely human."
"I've seen an orangutan string and wear a bead necklace that no one taught her to make."
Bonobo is pronounced buh-NO-bo.
Wolves have been denigrated as 'wasteful.' Well, true, those so accused don't return to a carcass. No, they have learned that carcasses get poisoned in their absence.
Wolves are again fair game in Wyoming. No license, no limit, no season.
"By moving out of nature and onto farms, we became in a very real sense just another farm animal."
Regarding the experiments about whether an animal can recognize itself in a mirror... deeply flawed... "When a bird, say, attacks the mirror, it does so precisely because it believes the reflection is another individual--not itself.... It demonstrates self-concept. It doesn't 'fail' the mirror test.... It just doesn't understand reflection."
A better definition of species is offered here. "When free-living animals freely interbreed, they're the same species." According to that definition, there may be about a dozen species of killer whales.
Peter Tyack reminds us, "'There are hundreds of tests for human intelligence alone, but we still have trouble even defining human intelligence.'" "Who was more 'intelligent,' Pablo Picasso or Henry Ford?"
And now I get to look through the bibliography. Some books will appeal, even though I know that I shouldn't even bother with older books because so much of what we thought we knew is wrong, and so much new stuff is being learned. But I'll look anyway. And I'll continue to work towards a more vegan diet, and I'll continue to vote for leaders who vote green, and I'll continue to try to get everyone I know off bottled water and disposable tissues & napkins. (Etc.)
April 18, 2015
Carl Safina prompts readers to consider animal behavior and thought, not by comparing it with human behavior, but by viewing it as unique. He encourages marrying science and logic to draw conclusions about animal thoughts and feelings. For example, we may think it good science to very detachedly document the way a dog bounds and jumps up to greet us when we return home. We can also use logic and apply what we know about this dog and our experiences with feeling to say the dog is happy. Major sections include visits with scientists observing elephants, wolves, and killer whales roaming freely in the wild. Dogs, parrots, ravens, tigers, humans, monkeys, and many other species get brief mentions. Content is mostly anecdotal, relaying Safina's own adventures or those of the long-time observers he visits in the field.
Reading this book is like sitting down with a friend or relative (albeit a smart and well-traveled one!) and listening to him philosophize as he recounts experiences in the field with some of the world's leading researchers on the behavior of free roaming animals. Safina is entertaining and is not above using some punny humor, particularly in chapter titles. Some of the experiences are hard to read; nature can be cruel. Others are funny. Most all are fascinating.
Generally, I read fiction at a rapid pace and assign myself a set number of daily nonfiction pages, like I would with medication or a homework assignment. Beyond Words was highly readable, and I found myself actually wanting to surpass my mandatory quota. I finished the book in three sittings, though I did find the prose a bit verbose at times. (Maybe I would have finished in two, with a bit more editing!)
I would have loved to enclose a few quotations from the text to make my points, but could not since I read an advance reader's edition prior to the book's release date. Recommended for those interested in animal behavior.
Reading this book is like sitting down with a friend or relative (albeit a smart and well-traveled one!) and listening to him philosophize as he recounts experiences in the field with some of the world's leading researchers on the behavior of free roaming animals. Safina is entertaining and is not above using some punny humor, particularly in chapter titles. Some of the experiences are hard to read; nature can be cruel. Others are funny. Most all are fascinating.
Generally, I read fiction at a rapid pace and assign myself a set number of daily nonfiction pages, like I would with medication or a homework assignment. Beyond Words was highly readable, and I found myself actually wanting to surpass my mandatory quota. I finished the book in three sittings, though I did find the prose a bit verbose at times. (Maybe I would have finished in two, with a bit more editing!)
I would have loved to enclose a few quotations from the text to make my points, but could not since I read an advance reader's edition prior to the book's release date. Recommended for those interested in animal behavior.
December 16, 2021
Broadly speaking this book comes in three parts, each focussing on the family- and wider social-dynamics of a single species: first elephants, then wolves, then killer whales. More specifically, though, it’s about us too: the way we humans look at both ourselves and the world; about the imaginary dividing line we draw around ourselves to separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom; about the idea that we are different—special. And I say “imaginary” because the author’s aim is to show how absurd this idea is.
Here’s a list of some of the things which have been hailed as the hallmark of “what makes us human”, what “sets us apart” from all those others:
• large brain • brain structure, the way the brain is organised overall • special types of brain cell (e.g. spindle cells, mirror neurons) • high intelligence • tool-use • not just using, but making tools • the capacity to feel pain • consciousness • emotions (any emotions at all that is) • and if other animals do feel fear, rage and so on, then human emotions • language • empathy • possessing a “theory of mind” (an absurd term from psychology meaning the ability to infer and understand another’s mental state • passing the mirror test (realising that the face looking back at you from a mirror is yourself) • the ability to plan ahead • deception (not camouflage, instinctive hiding and so on, but the premeditated deceiving of others) • teaching (parents sacrificing their own time to introduce their offspring to, and coach them in, new skills) • sharing food with complete strangers • an understanding of death • playing (and inventing) games / having fun / just “messing about” • abstract representation (the use of symbols to represent objects) • using one object to represent another.
It’s quite a list (though not an exhaustive one; there are plenty more too silly to bother even writing down).
For one thing, it’s fantasy; aside from those items on it for which the jury may still be out on ourselves too, in each case there are other species who either do, or have, or use, or make—or simply are—all these things. And for another, it expresses not only a cringe-inducing arrogance, but straw-clutching: humans clearly need to feel superior, special. But why? And why is this prejudice so difficult to see past? Is it part of a more fundamental view that the world is here for our use? Because how can you use others if you recognise them as equals?
This is a stunning book, the section on killer whales a true revelation—and as Safina himself points out, since the study of the behaviour, emotions, intelligence and consciousness of our fellow creatures is such a relatively new field (mere decades, barely begun) there are more revelations to come. And yet, surprisingly perhaps given its subject, Beyond Words is not an angry book; it’s remarkably restrained—albeit through gritted teeth at times when describing some of the grosser idiocies and atrocities routinely perpetrated on other animals by us.
The message here is that we humans are as much part of the world as everyone else, that the similarities overwhelm the differences, that we are essentially the same, “…beneath the skin, kin. There is no other animal like us. But don’t forget: there are no other animals like each of them, either.”
Here’s a list of some of the things which have been hailed as the hallmark of “what makes us human”, what “sets us apart” from all those others:
• large brain • brain structure, the way the brain is organised overall • special types of brain cell (e.g. spindle cells, mirror neurons) • high intelligence • tool-use • not just using, but making tools • the capacity to feel pain • consciousness • emotions (any emotions at all that is) • and if other animals do feel fear, rage and so on, then human emotions • language • empathy • possessing a “theory of mind” (an absurd term from psychology meaning the ability to infer and understand another’s mental state • passing the mirror test (realising that the face looking back at you from a mirror is yourself) • the ability to plan ahead • deception (not camouflage, instinctive hiding and so on, but the premeditated deceiving of others) • teaching (parents sacrificing their own time to introduce their offspring to, and coach them in, new skills) • sharing food with complete strangers • an understanding of death • playing (and inventing) games / having fun / just “messing about” • abstract representation (the use of symbols to represent objects) • using one object to represent another.
It’s quite a list (though not an exhaustive one; there are plenty more too silly to bother even writing down).
For one thing, it’s fantasy; aside from those items on it for which the jury may still be out on ourselves too, in each case there are other species who either do, or have, or use, or make—or simply are—all these things. And for another, it expresses not only a cringe-inducing arrogance, but straw-clutching: humans clearly need to feel superior, special. But why? And why is this prejudice so difficult to see past? Is it part of a more fundamental view that the world is here for our use? Because how can you use others if you recognise them as equals?
This is a stunning book, the section on killer whales a true revelation—and as Safina himself points out, since the study of the behaviour, emotions, intelligence and consciousness of our fellow creatures is such a relatively new field (mere decades, barely begun) there are more revelations to come. And yet, surprisingly perhaps given its subject, Beyond Words is not an angry book; it’s remarkably restrained—albeit through gritted teeth at times when describing some of the grosser idiocies and atrocities routinely perpetrated on other animals by us.
The message here is that we humans are as much part of the world as everyone else, that the similarities overwhelm the differences, that we are essentially the same, “…beneath the skin, kin. There is no other animal like us. But don’t forget: there are no other animals like each of them, either.”
August 13, 2015
This book was mindblowing in analyzing the communication, empathy, playfulness, grieving, hierarchy, and interaction of elephants, wolves, lions, dogs, crows, parrots, bower birds, killer whales and dolphins with one another and people. Safina explored the growing pressure on African elephants for their tusks and the difficulty of changing the culture of the Maasai tribes and the economic rewards they receive from poaching. The elephants have learned to fear the scent of a Maasai. The stories and insights on elephant communication, feelings, grief, memories and love were endearing. The elephants are nearing extinction. Asia has to stop their lust for ivory. When I read a Chinese woman thought ivory was picked up off the ground I nearly screamed!
Safina explored the near extinction of wolves in the U.S. They were brought back to Yellowstone National Park to control the elk population. The wolves brought increased tourism and economic gain for the Park and state of Montana. Yet a few farmers complaints brought open season hunting and poaching back and a few more sport hunters thought they had more elk to shoot in the fall.
The most mindblowing of all the stories and research on animals was the killer whale and dolphins. Unbelievable how they have saved countless lives of people and dogs. Our capturing and holding them in captivity in zoos and marine parks is atrocious. Like elephants, they need to live with their families. Japan needs to stop overfishing and the U.S. and Canadian Navy must stop underwater bombing and sonar. Humans, as a species, are destroying the planet and the animal kingdom. This book reminds us of the fragility of the planet and why we need these animals to survive.
"A study in Yellowstone Science concluded that in one year, "approximately 94,000 visitors from outside the region came to the park specifically to see and hear wolves." They spent "a total of $35.5 million in three states." The market value of cattle and sheep killed by wolves (the value ranchers would have gotten when they sold them for slaughter) was about $65,000 per year."
"Betty is a New Caledonian crow who uses previous experience to reason through problems. Having learned what a hook is, she bends straight wire into hooks to reach food deep inside tubes. Presented with an array of wires, Betty chooses the correct length and diameter for the task before her."
"We don't really have enough to go on; there's not enough to analyze. We have. Few stories of free-living killer whales guidi people lost in fog; of whales seemingly returning lost dogs; of free-living killer whales Turing in circles as a person makes a circular motion with his finger, or returning a worn hat perfectly for the occasion, or seeing someone wave and waving back, of empathy-of sympathy."
"Yet when park ranger Roberto Bubas stepped into the water and played his harmonica, the same individual killer whales would form a ring around him like puppies. They rally playfully around his kayak and come as, by names he gave them, he called to them."
Safina explored the near extinction of wolves in the U.S. They were brought back to Yellowstone National Park to control the elk population. The wolves brought increased tourism and economic gain for the Park and state of Montana. Yet a few farmers complaints brought open season hunting and poaching back and a few more sport hunters thought they had more elk to shoot in the fall.
The most mindblowing of all the stories and research on animals was the killer whale and dolphins. Unbelievable how they have saved countless lives of people and dogs. Our capturing and holding them in captivity in zoos and marine parks is atrocious. Like elephants, they need to live with their families. Japan needs to stop overfishing and the U.S. and Canadian Navy must stop underwater bombing and sonar. Humans, as a species, are destroying the planet and the animal kingdom. This book reminds us of the fragility of the planet and why we need these animals to survive.
"A study in Yellowstone Science concluded that in one year, "approximately 94,000 visitors from outside the region came to the park specifically to see and hear wolves." They spent "a total of $35.5 million in three states." The market value of cattle and sheep killed by wolves (the value ranchers would have gotten when they sold them for slaughter) was about $65,000 per year."
"Betty is a New Caledonian crow who uses previous experience to reason through problems. Having learned what a hook is, she bends straight wire into hooks to reach food deep inside tubes. Presented with an array of wires, Betty chooses the correct length and diameter for the task before her."
"We don't really have enough to go on; there's not enough to analyze. We have. Few stories of free-living killer whales guidi people lost in fog; of whales seemingly returning lost dogs; of free-living killer whales Turing in circles as a person makes a circular motion with his finger, or returning a worn hat perfectly for the occasion, or seeing someone wave and waving back, of empathy-of sympathy."
"Yet when park ranger Roberto Bubas stepped into the water and played his harmonica, the same individual killer whales would form a ring around him like puppies. They rally playfully around his kayak and come as, by names he gave them, he called to them."
January 14, 2016
Safina, who has a degree from Rutgers in Ecology, and is a MacArthur winner, has written a beautiful and deeply moving book about the natural lives of animals, focusing on the profound intelligence and inner life of elephants, wolves, whales, birds, and with asides on insects and lower orders -- in an attempt to show how all of us -- man and beast...even plant -- is simply part of an integral space, of animate life on earth, stressing the horrible loss of beauty and understanding that man's genocide of natural habitats is producing in our time. I (knowing very little about animal behavioral psychology) found this book to be accessible, utterly eye-opening, and persuasive.
Safina argues that animals -- even down to the lowest levels -- are "whos", and not "its"; that they have personality, subjectivity, consciousness of both themselves and others, empathy, emotion, deep stores of love, jealously creativity, curiosity, immense intelligence, communication skills, and..., indeed, to allow a pun, immense humanity. Far more that we. That animals are not simply some step in a teleological ladder, whose pinnacle is man, but that each is an end it itself, living a meaningful and aware life, with talents and skills appropriate to what it is. An elephant or whale or bird can be mediocre or brilliant AS WHAT IT IS..., as what it is to be an elephant or whale or bird..., and cannot be measured by what a man can do. A man, after all, could not survive a lifetime in an ocean -- or in flight.
Safina does not have a degree in animal behavior or in neurosciences, and so is writing anecdotally and as a long-time, albeit intelligent observer, but not as an academic expert in his subject. He deplores the still current popularity of Behaviorism.
The book is mared by jokes and asides, some snark, and wearing his environmentalism on his sleeve -- and it is written for the non-specialist. Hence, one may deduct a star or more if one likes.
But for the layman like myself, it was a marvelous introduction to an astoundingly profound moving problem: what do animals think and feel, and how do we know.
Safina argues that animals -- even down to the lowest levels -- are "whos", and not "its"; that they have personality, subjectivity, consciousness of both themselves and others, empathy, emotion, deep stores of love, jealously creativity, curiosity, immense intelligence, communication skills, and..., indeed, to allow a pun, immense humanity. Far more that we. That animals are not simply some step in a teleological ladder, whose pinnacle is man, but that each is an end it itself, living a meaningful and aware life, with talents and skills appropriate to what it is. An elephant or whale or bird can be mediocre or brilliant AS WHAT IT IS..., as what it is to be an elephant or whale or bird..., and cannot be measured by what a man can do. A man, after all, could not survive a lifetime in an ocean -- or in flight.
Safina does not have a degree in animal behavior or in neurosciences, and so is writing anecdotally and as a long-time, albeit intelligent observer, but not as an academic expert in his subject. He deplores the still current popularity of Behaviorism.
The book is mared by jokes and asides, some snark, and wearing his environmentalism on his sleeve -- and it is written for the non-specialist. Hence, one may deduct a star or more if one likes.
But for the layman like myself, it was a marvelous introduction to an astoundingly profound moving problem: what do animals think and feel, and how do we know.
June 22, 2017
Actual Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
As an animal person myself, this was greatly enjoyable. It was amazing to see how animals that we consider "wild" and "untamed" are so much more than that. Humans love to consider themselves special and the most intelligent species in this planet, but what if we're measuring intelligence of other species using the wrong scale? That was one of the authors arguments that I found extremely compelling, as well as the argument that why does the scientific world deprive itself from applying human characteristics to animals, such as jealousy or being able to plan ahead of time.
The writing was very conversational and I think that worked really well with this book since the topic is one that can cause great debate if read with someone else or in a book club. It also made the reading much easier. I'm not keen on non-fiction, so the style of writing extremely helped me from dropping the book. So if you're someone that wants to get into non-fiction, and have no idea where to start, I would recommend this book. Because who doesn't like animals?
Now the issues I had were mainly the research the author used and how he presented it. At its core this book is argumentative, and like any good argument you're supposed to have done enough research on the pros and cons of both sides. However, he only presented to us research that proved his point and then deconstructed the opposing researching by showing how "ridiculous" it sounded, to him at least. As someone that does and studies research, I was greatly appalled by his disregard of some of it without even taking a glance at the actual study published. Furthermore, his demeaning tone for some psychological concepts and how little he knew about them while speaking like he had studied them his whole life was just not profesional in my opinion. One time to define a concept he used the Wikipedia page. Wikipedia. Unbelievable.
Overall, I still enjoyed it. I mainly like the second half of the book, while the first half with the elephants was quite slow and boring. It's a solid 3.5 stars for me.
As an animal person myself, this was greatly enjoyable. It was amazing to see how animals that we consider "wild" and "untamed" are so much more than that. Humans love to consider themselves special and the most intelligent species in this planet, but what if we're measuring intelligence of other species using the wrong scale? That was one of the authors arguments that I found extremely compelling, as well as the argument that why does the scientific world deprive itself from applying human characteristics to animals, such as jealousy or being able to plan ahead of time.
The writing was very conversational and I think that worked really well with this book since the topic is one that can cause great debate if read with someone else or in a book club. It also made the reading much easier. I'm not keen on non-fiction, so the style of writing extremely helped me from dropping the book. So if you're someone that wants to get into non-fiction, and have no idea where to start, I would recommend this book. Because who doesn't like animals?
Now the issues I had were mainly the research the author used and how he presented it. At its core this book is argumentative, and like any good argument you're supposed to have done enough research on the pros and cons of both sides. However, he only presented to us research that proved his point and then deconstructed the opposing researching by showing how "ridiculous" it sounded, to him at least. As someone that does and studies research, I was greatly appalled by his disregard of some of it without even taking a glance at the actual study published. Furthermore, his demeaning tone for some psychological concepts and how little he knew about them while speaking like he had studied them his whole life was just not profesional in my opinion. One time to define a concept he used the Wikipedia page. Wikipedia. Unbelievable.
Overall, I still enjoyed it. I mainly like the second half of the book, while the first half with the elephants was quite slow and boring. It's a solid 3.5 stars for me.
January 6, 2020
What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina is a book brimming with amazing research and stories about the lives, abilities, the complex behaviors, and cultures of some of earth’s most fascinating animals (notably—elephants, wolves, dogs, and cetaceans, though remarkable references to turtles and birds and others are here too).
Safina is a gifted, even lyrical, writer, and he approaches the discussion about each of these marvelous creatures with respect, awe, and much humility. Of course, in the process of exploring the lives, and worlds, and context, of these beings who inhabit the earth along with us, the book says as much or more about us as human animals. One can only conclude that as a species, humans are the most oblivious, egotistical, small-minded, selfish, destructive, and often cruel creatures on God’s green earth. (When will we learn that not everything is because of us, or for us, or about us?) Thankfully, there are those animal scientists, individual women and men, who are capable of seeing beyond the blinders of human exceptionalism, who are able to appreciate the life, and grace, and wonder around us. Will those few be enough to save life on earth? I’d like to believe it’s possible.
Safina is a gifted, even lyrical, writer, and he approaches the discussion about each of these marvelous creatures with respect, awe, and much humility. Of course, in the process of exploring the lives, and worlds, and context, of these beings who inhabit the earth along with us, the book says as much or more about us as human animals. One can only conclude that as a species, humans are the most oblivious, egotistical, small-minded, selfish, destructive, and often cruel creatures on God’s green earth. (When will we learn that not everything is because of us, or for us, or about us?) Thankfully, there are those animal scientists, individual women and men, who are capable of seeing beyond the blinders of human exceptionalism, who are able to appreciate the life, and grace, and wonder around us. Will those few be enough to save life on earth? I’d like to believe it’s possible.
August 27, 2021
Me ha cautivado absolutamente desde el principio.
El autor no solo habla desde el conocimiento de la observación científica del comportamiento animal, en este caso se centra en elefantes, lobos y orcas pero mirándolos desde la perspectiva que nunca hay que perder, que somos uno más, sino que entreteje vivencias propias y de otros investigadores que han dedicado toda una vida a cultivar el asombro para con los animales.
Si se hubiera quedado ahí, el libro ya sería bueno. Pero lo que lo hace excelente es la capacidad crítica con el ser humano, el primate, que capaz de creerse más inteligente que las demás especies, comete atrocidades y actos que denotan lo contrario.
Relatos reflexivos tras mirar a los ojos de un delfín, lágrimas cuando ves la muerte injusta de seres que al igual que nosotros viven en cohesión durante toda su vida y mucha, mucha satisfacción con el nacimiento de un nuevo miembro de la familia. Pero todo ello no se limita a la parcela humana, sino que son sentimientos contrastados y observados día a día por parte de cada uno de los protagonistas de este libro: animales.
Ellos con sus capacidades de comunicación, cuidado y lealtad nos dan toda una lección de humildad.
Lo mejor del libro es que la ciencia brilla por todos lados, argumentos sólidos y coherentes que muchas veces y como bien dice el autor: te hace tambalear al ver cosas que no eres capaz de explicar. Porque... y si las orcas nos entienden más que nosotros a ellas?
Lean esta maravilla de historia, que también es la nuestra.
El autor no solo habla desde el conocimiento de la observación científica del comportamiento animal, en este caso se centra en elefantes, lobos y orcas pero mirándolos desde la perspectiva que nunca hay que perder, que somos uno más, sino que entreteje vivencias propias y de otros investigadores que han dedicado toda una vida a cultivar el asombro para con los animales.
Si se hubiera quedado ahí, el libro ya sería bueno. Pero lo que lo hace excelente es la capacidad crítica con el ser humano, el primate, que capaz de creerse más inteligente que las demás especies, comete atrocidades y actos que denotan lo contrario.
Relatos reflexivos tras mirar a los ojos de un delfín, lágrimas cuando ves la muerte injusta de seres que al igual que nosotros viven en cohesión durante toda su vida y mucha, mucha satisfacción con el nacimiento de un nuevo miembro de la familia. Pero todo ello no se limita a la parcela humana, sino que son sentimientos contrastados y observados día a día por parte de cada uno de los protagonistas de este libro: animales.
Ellos con sus capacidades de comunicación, cuidado y lealtad nos dan toda una lección de humildad.
Lo mejor del libro es que la ciencia brilla por todos lados, argumentos sólidos y coherentes que muchas veces y como bien dice el autor: te hace tambalear al ver cosas que no eres capaz de explicar. Porque... y si las orcas nos entienden más que nosotros a ellas?
Lean esta maravilla de historia, que también es la nuestra.
July 27, 2020
Over 500 pages of anecdotal ramblings and recycled content. Even if some observations are interesting in themselves, Safina just has to include his own interpretation of them, arguing for ridiculous or obvious things. I won't even go into details; the number of eyerolls and facepalms I experienced throughout the book is dreadful.
Worst of all, he keeps comparing every living thing to his dogs. At least once every few pages. Good grief. I like dogs, I do, but if I never have to read another mention of Safina's dogs again it'll be too soon.
The chapter on elephants is somewhat boring, but digestible. The chapters on wolves and killer whales are decent, but, sadly, not free of these rambling and sometimes ridiculous interpretations. The third chapter... I can't even tell what's it about; just random stuff, I assume.
Very repetitive, often contradictory, and not well written. Safina should just stick to the facts & observations, and this would make the book so much more readable and shorter.
Do yourself a favor and read something else, with actual scientific content.
Worst of all, he keeps comparing every living thing to his dogs. At least once every few pages. Good grief. I like dogs, I do, but if I never have to read another mention of Safina's dogs again it'll be too soon.
The chapter on elephants is somewhat boring, but digestible. The chapters on wolves and killer whales are decent, but, sadly, not free of these rambling and sometimes ridiculous interpretations. The third chapter... I can't even tell what's it about; just random stuff, I assume.
Very repetitive, often contradictory, and not well written. Safina should just stick to the facts & observations, and this would make the book so much more readable and shorter.
Do yourself a favor and read something else, with actual scientific content.
April 6, 2018
“Why do human egos seem so threatened by the thought that other animals think and feel? Is it because acknowledging the mind of another makes it harder to abuse them?”
Wow, what can I say? This book is absolutely amazing. It’s actually *beyond words* haha. I wish everyone in the world would read it!!!!
Wow, what can I say? This book is absolutely amazing. It’s actually *beyond words* haha. I wish everyone in the world would read it!!!!
December 3, 2016
It's not really a book, it's a collection of cute or cool animal stories, quite poorly written with lots of "he says, she says", many unreferenced facts like "a scientist from 1926 says", that often goes on wild rants about how humans are bad and religions are dumb in the middle of the stories.
February 28, 2016
Another nail in the "just so story" that humans are special.
Safina challenges the old school animal behaviorists who suggest that animals are incapable of thinking or feeling in any meaningful way. Unlike other animal activists researchers who go off the deep end, Safina's arguments, while some times anecdotal, are balanced and well thought out.
In one particularly good section of the book, Safina recounted his days at university, sitting in the classroom listening to lectures on the evils of anthropomorphizing animal's actions. I too have sat in lectures along with myriad undergrads and grads who heard largely the same thing Safina did. It is bored into our brains that since we cannot speak the same language, we cannot ask animals what they think and feel, and thus it a sacrilege to anthropomorphize their actions. After all, we can only observe actions, not thoughts or feelings. We must take caution in our interpretation of these actions. Safina agrees with this but suggests that in fact the professors themselves have made assumptions. Safina claims it is just as wrong to assume they do not have emotions and feelings similar to humans. If we can only measure behaviors, then Safina cautions, just stop there. No need to come to unfounded conclusions that since humans can't observe a feeling or thought, that it does not exist. Great argument.
He goes onto make some assumptions of his own. However, his arguments are largely based on a wonderfully balanced look at the shared neuroanatomy, neurochemicals, neurocircuitry, and so on, between animals and humans. He tries to understand if there might be feelings, to a lesser a degree, present in all animals, and even plants (to an even lesser degree) who share similar anatomy, chemicals, and so on. He wants to understand how all of the senses originated and how they diverged once they emerged. These are great questions.
Despite some anecdotal findings, Safina never enters the realm of sloppy science seen in cases involving Koko the gorilla. Trainers speak for Koko and want the world to believe that their mashup of their own interpretation + Koko's actions = fully sentient being (philosopher even!). This kind of "science" is tantamount to the "science" of facilitated communication that "helps" autistic individuals speak to the world. When the facilitators are able to let the public know what the person with autism has been thinking all this time, it is shocking, much like how shocking as it was to find out a guy who was in a coma for 12 years was aware of everything, even his mother wishing (for his sake) he would just die. However, it turned out that in the case of the autistic individual, we really don't know what they are thinking or are not thinking. When given a simple test, one which they can easily pass with the facilitator present, they fail when a different facilitator is present. In the end, it amounts to a ouija board. The facilitators really believe they are receiving signals from the hands on the keyboard, just as teen girls at a slumber party feel they are getting a signal from the hands on a ouija board. Koko's trainers engage in much the same kind of facilitated communication. Safina doesn't do this as much.
Also enjoyable in this book, Safina has a very self-reflective writing style. His whole goal is to try to understand if animals can think and feel like humans do. Yet, he constantly questions the validity of this quest. Such a great quality in a researcher/author/lecturer.
Safina challenges the old school animal behaviorists who suggest that animals are incapable of thinking or feeling in any meaningful way. Unlike other animal activists researchers who go off the deep end, Safina's arguments, while some times anecdotal, are balanced and well thought out.
In one particularly good section of the book, Safina recounted his days at university, sitting in the classroom listening to lectures on the evils of anthropomorphizing animal's actions. I too have sat in lectures along with myriad undergrads and grads who heard largely the same thing Safina did. It is bored into our brains that since we cannot speak the same language, we cannot ask animals what they think and feel, and thus it a sacrilege to anthropomorphize their actions. After all, we can only observe actions, not thoughts or feelings. We must take caution in our interpretation of these actions. Safina agrees with this but suggests that in fact the professors themselves have made assumptions. Safina claims it is just as wrong to assume they do not have emotions and feelings similar to humans. If we can only measure behaviors, then Safina cautions, just stop there. No need to come to unfounded conclusions that since humans can't observe a feeling or thought, that it does not exist. Great argument.
He goes onto make some assumptions of his own. However, his arguments are largely based on a wonderfully balanced look at the shared neuroanatomy, neurochemicals, neurocircuitry, and so on, between animals and humans. He tries to understand if there might be feelings, to a lesser a degree, present in all animals, and even plants (to an even lesser degree) who share similar anatomy, chemicals, and so on. He wants to understand how all of the senses originated and how they diverged once they emerged. These are great questions.
Despite some anecdotal findings, Safina never enters the realm of sloppy science seen in cases involving Koko the gorilla. Trainers speak for Koko and want the world to believe that their mashup of their own interpretation + Koko's actions = fully sentient being (philosopher even!). This kind of "science" is tantamount to the "science" of facilitated communication that "helps" autistic individuals speak to the world. When the facilitators are able to let the public know what the person with autism has been thinking all this time, it is shocking, much like how shocking as it was to find out a guy who was in a coma for 12 years was aware of everything, even his mother wishing (for his sake) he would just die. However, it turned out that in the case of the autistic individual, we really don't know what they are thinking or are not thinking. When given a simple test, one which they can easily pass with the facilitator present, they fail when a different facilitator is present. In the end, it amounts to a ouija board. The facilitators really believe they are receiving signals from the hands on the keyboard, just as teen girls at a slumber party feel they are getting a signal from the hands on a ouija board. Koko's trainers engage in much the same kind of facilitated communication. Safina doesn't do this as much.
Also enjoyable in this book, Safina has a very self-reflective writing style. His whole goal is to try to understand if animals can think and feel like humans do. Yet, he constantly questions the validity of this quest. Such a great quality in a researcher/author/lecturer.
August 23, 2021
The author makes the case that despite our history of denying that animals think and feel, they do both, in similar ways to humans. He illustrates this mostly with three long sections, one each on elephants, wolves, and killer whales. The book includes, in less detail, information on other animals including birds, great apes, dogs, fish, and tortoises.
It took me a week to read the book. I had to put it down frequently, mostly because of the stories about how we've decimated the populations of these three species and many more. How we've tortured so many of them and said that it doesn't matter as they don't have feelings like we do. Not to mention our effect on the environment, which leaves little room for creatures other than us. For me, it was nothing new but nonetheless excruciating to read about.
Much of the information on elephants, wolves, and killer whales was about their family lives and how they communicate. All three of these species have strong female leadership and lifelong bonds between mothers and their children. They also have systems of meaningful vocalization that probably can be considered language. Each member of each of these species is a distinct individual with personality characteristics very similar to those of humans. The details of their lives in the wild are fascinating. The details of their individual and large-scale murders by humans are horrifying.
Besides the sections on the three species, there's a section called "Whines and Pet Peeves" with several chapters. This includes a lot about theory of mind, where someone understands that someone else has thoughts and feelings and objectives. Safina makes a strong case that many types of animals have that, with detailed examples. And that we are closely related, so why wouldn't they? And that human exceptionalism is not based on reality. He uses data and logic to basically shred the old ideas. I enjoyed his style of doing that.
Two quick quotes from that section: "Why do human egos seem so threatened by the thought that other animals think and feel? Is it because acknowledging the mind of another makes it harder to abuse them?" About the idea that a test of intelligence is being able to understand what one is seeing in the mirror (a number of animals can do that, but it used to be assumed it was a human thing), "Maybe a mirror is mainly a test for which species is the greatest narcissist."
I had already read some of the book's material in Frans de Waal's book Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?. De Waal also makes a strong case for animals and against humancentric schools of thought.
There's so much more. As far as I know, this book is state of the art of what we know about animals and about what we can conclude using observation, scientific inquiry, and common sense. Highly recommended.
It took me a week to read the book. I had to put it down frequently, mostly because of the stories about how we've decimated the populations of these three species and many more. How we've tortured so many of them and said that it doesn't matter as they don't have feelings like we do. Not to mention our effect on the environment, which leaves little room for creatures other than us. For me, it was nothing new but nonetheless excruciating to read about.
Much of the information on elephants, wolves, and killer whales was about their family lives and how they communicate. All three of these species have strong female leadership and lifelong bonds between mothers and their children. They also have systems of meaningful vocalization that probably can be considered language. Each member of each of these species is a distinct individual with personality characteristics very similar to those of humans. The details of their lives in the wild are fascinating. The details of their individual and large-scale murders by humans are horrifying.
Besides the sections on the three species, there's a section called "Whines and Pet Peeves" with several chapters. This includes a lot about theory of mind, where someone understands that someone else has thoughts and feelings and objectives. Safina makes a strong case that many types of animals have that, with detailed examples. And that we are closely related, so why wouldn't they? And that human exceptionalism is not based on reality. He uses data and logic to basically shred the old ideas. I enjoyed his style of doing that.
Two quick quotes from that section: "Why do human egos seem so threatened by the thought that other animals think and feel? Is it because acknowledging the mind of another makes it harder to abuse them?" About the idea that a test of intelligence is being able to understand what one is seeing in the mirror (a number of animals can do that, but it used to be assumed it was a human thing), "Maybe a mirror is mainly a test for which species is the greatest narcissist."
I had already read some of the book's material in Frans de Waal's book Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?. De Waal also makes a strong case for animals and against humancentric schools of thought.
There's so much more. As far as I know, this book is state of the art of what we know about animals and about what we can conclude using observation, scientific inquiry, and common sense. Highly recommended.
June 27, 2023
4,25
Bardzo rozbudowana pozycja, pełna informacji, przeplatanych historiami - przez co nie czyta się jej ciężko. Chociaż miejscami było za dużo powtórzeń.
Podróżujemy po myślach i uczuciach zwierząt - w szczególności skupiamy się na słoniach, wilkach i orkach, ale w "pobocznych" historiach odwiedzamy też inne gatunki, a nawet psy autora. Tytuł wręcz krzyczy - szanujmy zwierzęta, bo czują więcej niż nam może się zdawać.
Opisanych jest tu też wiele historii okrucieństwa ze strony człowieka, więc wszystkich bardziej wrażliwych ostrzegam.
Bardzo rozbudowana pozycja, pełna informacji, przeplatanych historiami - przez co nie czyta się jej ciężko. Chociaż miejscami było za dużo powtórzeń.
Podróżujemy po myślach i uczuciach zwierząt - w szczególności skupiamy się na słoniach, wilkach i orkach, ale w "pobocznych" historiach odwiedzamy też inne gatunki, a nawet psy autora. Tytuł wręcz krzyczy - szanujmy zwierzęta, bo czują więcej niż nam może się zdawać.
Opisanych jest tu też wiele historii okrucieństwa ze strony człowieka, więc wszystkich bardziej wrażliwych ostrzegam.
April 14, 2023
The book takes a perspective of a world outside us- a world in which humans are not the measure of all things. The fundamental premise of the book is that all creatures on earth have shared experiences because we all have got the same basic brain. The argument presented here is appropriately more understandable for social animals. The book makes the case broadly through three studies. The first part of book deals with a particular family of African elephants, followed by a wolf population of yellow stone and finally it deals with killer whales and other cetaceans. Most of the claims made by author are backed by ethograms and natural observations in the wild. I still believe that in many places it felt like little over the board but probably it's because of my academic training as biologist which makes me wired to neutrality even when it might not be the case.
The author rightly says that we can safely say that what elephants or wolves or whales are saying and understanding is more sophisticated than is our understanding of what these creatures are saying. Humans desperately need to believe that we are not just unique- as all species are - but we are so very special, that we are resplendent,transendent, divinely inspired,weightlessly imbued with eternal souls. Anything less induces dread and panic. But the reality is that we are just one amongst many magnificent creatures who walk on this earth.
Humans have overestimated their own capabilities and have grossly underestimated the intelligence and sensitivity of other animals. One might think that intelligence or cognition or consciousness are abstract concepts for animals but they are as abstract as we choose to define it. At the end of the day the basic wiring of the brain and thus the biological system presents a continuity across the animal kingdom.
The author rightly says that we can safely say that what elephants or wolves or whales are saying and understanding is more sophisticated than is our understanding of what these creatures are saying. Humans desperately need to believe that we are not just unique- as all species are - but we are so very special, that we are resplendent,transendent, divinely inspired,weightlessly imbued with eternal souls. Anything less induces dread and panic. But the reality is that we are just one amongst many magnificent creatures who walk on this earth.
Humans have overestimated their own capabilities and have grossly underestimated the intelligence and sensitivity of other animals. One might think that intelligence or cognition or consciousness are abstract concepts for animals but they are as abstract as we choose to define it. At the end of the day the basic wiring of the brain and thus the biological system presents a continuity across the animal kingdom.
May 3, 2016
I was actually disappointed by the book, I thought with the book being as thick as it was the it would be information dense, however from what I read I really did not learn anything new, or see a different side of a topic. The section on wolves was what I found the most interesting, for some reason the first section on elephants just did not do it for me. I am not an expert on the topic whatsover and maybe the author chose the animals that he did because those are ones that we identify with more readily, and there is already a bunch of information out there, perhaps if he had chosen lesser known animals I would have found this more interesting. Therefore I would say if you are already familiar with elephants, wolves, dogs and such and studies like this don't read this book.
December 7, 2016
What a chore to get through. It was the same story about the negative affect humans are having for the elephants, wolves and whales. I kept waiting for the science to arrive, instead I was inundated with story after story of animal watching. After reaching this gem on page 204:
‘Some animals are into music. My friend Darrel says that his tortoise “loves Mexican music” and starts running around when he hears it.’
I knew there was no hope and more or less skimmed through the rest. Towards the end it didn’t surprise me to find an entire chapter devoted to recounting Youtube clips of animals. Save yourself a lot of time and watch some nature documentaries. Good grief, Safina may be an animal lover, but a writer or a scientist he is not.
‘Some animals are into music. My friend Darrel says that his tortoise “loves Mexican music” and starts running around when he hears it.’
I knew there was no hope and more or less skimmed through the rest. Towards the end it didn’t surprise me to find an entire chapter devoted to recounting Youtube clips of animals. Save yourself a lot of time and watch some nature documentaries. Good grief, Safina may be an animal lover, but a writer or a scientist he is not.
April 26, 2020
At first I was surprised that so much of "Beyond Words" was just watching family lives of animals (considering the subtitle "What Animals Think and Feel"), but in the course of reading I realised it was a perfect way to show that elephants, wolves and orcas live "full", socially complex lives, not that dissimilar from human lives (not to dismiss animals whose lives are much different). It also made for a compelling read: it feels really good to immerse yourself in the life of another species. Overall this book offers great insight based not only on observation and established science, but also on empathy and imagination, and I think that's what we need right now.
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