Jacksonville Public Library

The lives of animals, J.M. Coetzee ; edited and introduced by Amy Gutmann

Label
The lives of animals, J.M. Coetzee ; edited and introduced by Amy Gutmann
Language
eng
Bibliography note
Includes index
Index
no index present
Literary Form
fiction
Main title
The lives of animals
Oclc number
46908730
Responsibility statement
J.M. Coetzee ; edited and introduced by Amy Gutmann
Summary
J. M. Coetzee uses fiction to present a discussion of animal rights in all their complexity. He draws us into his character's own sense of mortality, her compassion for animals, and her alienation from humans, even from her own family. In his fable, presented as a Tanner Lecture sponsored by the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, Coetzee immerses us in a drama reflecting the real-life situation at hand: a writer delivering a lecture on an emotionally charged issue at a prestigious university. The story is followed by responses treating the reader to a variety of perspectives, delivered by leading thinkers in different fields. Coetzee's text is accompanied by an introduction by political philosopher Amy Gutmann and responsive essays by religion scholar Wendy Doniger, primatologist Barbara Smuts, literary theorist Marjorie Garber, and moral philosopher Peter Singer, author of "Animal Liberation." Together the lecture-fable and the essays explore the palpable social consequences of uncompromising moral conflict and confrontation