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31st out of 139 books
—
212 voters
Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals
For centuries we believed that humans were the only ones that mattered. The idea that animals had feelings was either dismissed or considered heresy. Today, that’s all changing. New scientific studies of animal behavior reveal perceptions, intelligences, awareness and social skills that would have been deemed fantasy a generation ago. The implications make our troubled rel...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
March 16th 2010
by Palgrave Macmillan
(first published 2010)
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as the author himself points out a few different times, a book like this could not have been printed decades ago (or, had it been, it would have been laughingly dismissed). second nature: the inner lives of animals is a fascinating, often unbelievable foray into the latest science regarding animal intelligence, behavior, and the like. balcombe's work as an animal behavior research scientist has undoubtedly led to discoveries similar to those he outlines in the book.
much of second nature serves t...more
much of second nature serves t...more
This is a book with a mission. The author tries to convince us that animals are sentient and feeling creatures and we should treat them with dignity. That includes not eating them and not using them in experiments of any nature.
What a change from Hauser’s book! Balcome devotes the whole book to convince us that inner lives of animals are not much poorer than ours. He shows that they are capable of altruistic behavior and some of them operate with an obvious theory of mind, display social behavio...more
What a change from Hauser’s book! Balcome devotes the whole book to convince us that inner lives of animals are not much poorer than ours. He shows that they are capable of altruistic behavior and some of them operate with an obvious theory of mind, display social behavio...more
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A usually interesting collection of research studies, anecdotes, and observations about animals, with the author believing strongly that animals are capable of enjoying life, rather than being devoid of feeling, and acting on instinct. Definitely some good food for thought, though the writing sucked, and everything was so 'fluffy' and agenda-laden, that I found it frustrating at times. But it convinced me that the double-priced eggs from the family farms are worth it!
I literally finished this book in the span of 24 hours. It was amazing. I can't recommend it highly enough to those who are concerned with animal welfare. While I borrowed the book from the library this time I will most definitely be purchasing it for my own library as there were numerous passages that I desperately wanted to take a highlighter to.
Definitely my first "favorite" of 2011.
Definitely my first "favorite" of 2011.
Thought provoking read about animals emotional lives as well as their interactions with the same species and others, how we humans treat animals in the laboratory and factory farms. Nice ancedotes about interactions between animals. Not so pretty thoughts about humans' unethical and immoral actions towards animals.
This book is FASCINATING!!!!! I have learned SO MUCH about animal behavior. It reminds me of watching Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom" as a kid! I hope to use snippets with my students.
Written largely from a scientific perspective, so one needs to be prepared for that: incredibly informative and possibly life-changing in the way we view our fellow creatures.
An exceptionally researched, candid and extraordinary book. A must-read for animal lovers and those narrow-minded about animals.
I thought the book had a great idea to begin with, and although the supporting points were fascinating, I felt as though the book was nothing more than a listing of experiments. I also wondered why, especially in a book having to do with the feelings of animals, they chose to watch lab rats writhe after being injected with a painful drug for one of their experiments.
I recommend this book. The main point for me was that the life of each individual animal matters to that individual animal. "Factory farming" is not a good thing. I'll try to become more conscious of my personal choices.
This one book taught me more about animals than any I have ever read
just read it. and then stop being so human-centric. all of you! :P
Almost the same book as his "The Pleasureable Kingdom"
Really gets that ol' brain a tickin'
Excellent book!
It seemed like a lot of information was thrown together without really fleshing out the narrative. Many interesting studies that I would have liked expanded. Clearer, more concise arguments would have made this a stronger book.
Great book... confirms what I had mostly suspected.
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