Reviews for The Philosopher's Dog: Friendships with Animals

The average rating for The Philosopher's Dog: Friendships with Animals based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-04-28 00:00:00 Tami Walden Having read and enjoyed this book, I was astonished to find that it had been rated poorly on here, and many reviewers questioned the author's reasoning, methodology and his target audience. I do not ordinarily write reviews, but thought I would write down my thoughts on this book while they were still fresh. The Philosopher's Dog is a work of philosophy, and as such, having only read it once, there will be much that I didn't allow time to seep in or grapple with as I read the book. It is well written and does not lack for clarity, and the only reason why it needs time and rereading is because of the subject matter, not the quality of writing. There are many different points put across in the book, and many seeming contradictions that Gaita does not shy away from, given that he does not believe ethics to be easy. It seems that he believes that we can hold seemingly contradictory views about animals because our ethical considerations cannot simply be filtered down into the things that we believe. Every word we use is packed with meaning, and it could take an age to pick our terms apart. This attitude justifies his method of using stories to make his point clear. He does not include these to make his book more accessible to non-philosophers, but because they are at the heart of what he is getting at. An interaction between a human and animal can involve a huge amount of understanding on the part of both without any language involved even in the thoughts of either. His examples allow us to see his message and follow the discussion instead of getting lost on the way as difficult concepts are picked apart. Gaita's book perfectly balances sensitivity and reason, and shows you what perfect friends the two can be. It is well worth reading, but its sincerity and scope should not be underestimated - just because it has a dog on the front, does not mean that it will be a walk in the park.

Review # 2 was written on 2007-08-03 00:00:00 Mark Walker I admit, I couldn't make it all the way through this book. The personal anecdotes are great, but sections on the "philosophy" of our relationships with dogs and other animals were ponderous and boring. I am too pragmatic to read 200 pages of wandering prose discussing whether or not dogs are "sensate creatures." I mean, duh! Of course they are! (Which is the conclusion of the book, too, but he just takes longer to get there.) Don't waste my time!