“We are a species that ponders its own condition. The underlying difficulties of being an animal remain, no matter what culture or era a person is born within. We all face real worries and dilemmas as a consequence of being alive among a multitude of lives.
This book is a defence of what it means to be an animal. It doesn’t involve belittling us or losing sight of the obvious differences that mark us out. Nor does it result in a confused preference for what might be thought of as natural. Rather, this is an argument for a deeper understanding of how we think about life. Our animal origin is the story of our place in the world. It’s the basis of how we give meaning to our existence. This is an impossible task without first accepting that humans are animals. This should be straightforward, yet it isn’t. In truth, we live inside a paradox: it’s blindingly obvious that we’re animals and yet some part of us doesn’t believe it. It’s important to try to make some sense of this. And then, once we accept that we’re animals, to think about what flows from that.”
How to Be Animal A New History of What it Means to Be Human, Melanie Challenger
