A Plea for the Animals
$19.95
The Moral, Philosophical, and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion
-
Amazon eBook Download
Before you go, sign up to receive news & promotions from Shambhala.com
Apple eBook Download
Before you go, sign up to receive news & promotions from Shambhala.com
Google eBook Download
Before you go, sign up to receive news & promotions from Shambhala.com
Kobo eBook Download
Before you go, sign up to receive news & promotions from Shambhala.com
Nook eBook Download
Before you go, sign up to receive news & promotions from Shambhala.com
Shambhala Publications09/02/2016Pages: 352Size: 6 x 9ISBN: 9781611803051DetailsEvery cow just wants to be happy. Every chicken just wants to be free. Every bear, dog, or mouse experiences sorrow and feels pain as intensely as any of us humans do. In a compelling appeal to reason and human kindness, Matthieu Ricard here takes the arguments from his best-sellers Altruism and Happiness to their logical conclusion: that compassion toward all beings, including our fellow animals, is a moral obligation and the direction toward which any enlightened society must aspire. He chronicles the appalling sufferings of the animals we eat, wear, and use for adornment or “entertainment,” and submits every traditional justification for their exploitation to scientific evidence and moral scrutiny. What arises is an unambiguous and powerful ethical imperative for treating all of the animals with whom we share this planet with respect and compassion.RelatedCheck items to add to the cart orAuthor BioMatthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk who had a promising career in cellular genetics before leaving France to study Buddhism in the Himalayas thirty-seven years ago. He is a best-selling author, translator, and photographer, and an active participant in current scientific research on the effects of meditation on the brain. His many books include Why Meditate?, Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill, and The Quantum and the Lotus. He lives in Nepal and dedicates much of his time to humanitarian projects in the Himalayas through his nonprofit organization Karuna-Shechen (www.karuna-shechen.com). For more information, visit www.matthieuricard.org.
Praise"Are animals mere things, here for us to exploit? Or are they rather sentient, often intelligent beings, entitled to live their own lives? Matthieu Ricard examines theological, philosophical, and scientific thinking on both sides of the issue and concludes that without doubt we must recognize each animal is an individual deserving of our compassion and respect. A Plea for the Animals is fascinating, instructive, and compelling, speaking to us on both an intellectual and emotional level." —Jane Goodall
"A Plea for the Animals continues and completes the wonderful work Matthieu Ricard did in his Altruism, drawing on science and philosophy to show that compassion cannot be limited to members of our own species but must be extended to all beings capable of suffering. This is a book for everyone who is willing to consider the case for a radical change in the way we treat animals." —Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation
"A Plea for the Animals is an outstanding and well-referenced book that surely will make a difference for the billions of nonhumans who routinely suffer globally at the hands of humans. Matthieu Ricard’s heartfelt plea for us to tap into our caring and compassionate selves and to treat other animals with unbounded dignity and respect will go a long way toward inspiring people to see other animals for whom they truly are, to feel for them deeply, and to recognize how they fully depend on us to grant them the ability to be able to live their lives in peace and safety." —Marc Bekoff, author of Animals Matter and Rewilding Our Hearts: Building Pathways of Compassion and Coexistence
Selected Reader Reviews