The Souls of Animals

by Gary Kowalski, Art Wolfe (Photographer), Tom Regan (Foreword)

A classic book on animal spirituality - now updated and expanded. In this book, author Gary Kowalski offers vignettes from the lives of creatures that illustrate the qualities he considers playfulness, capacity for love, altruism, and awareness of death. Kowalski reminds us, "If we are to keep Earth safe for coming generations, we must awaken to a new respect for the family of life."

Genres: Animals, Nature, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Philosophy, Science

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Dollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who has ever had a pet they truly loved and considered their best friend will enjoy the examples given in this book which show how intelligent and creative our animal friends are. This book about animal spirituality was short but had a very important message. It is up to us as humans to learn to respect and appreciate the other animals on this earth. Some species of animals are near extinction and without them our world will be a lonelier planet. The writing in this book is as beautiful and expressive as its message. Mr. Kowalski’s words struck deep in my heart, ‘’No longer can we discount the lives of sensitive and intelligent creatures merely because they assume nonhuman form. The things that make life most precious and blessed - courage and daring, conscience and compassion, imagination and originality, fantasy and play - do not belong to our kind alone. Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.’’ I recommend this book to all animal lovers and I especially recommend this book to people who are not animal lovers. It may help you to appreciate and understand more clearly people who are.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author disputes the Western viewpoint that man is superior to the animals and reigns over them. He presents his thesis: the possiblity for other animals to be spiritual - using stories and actual events from the experiences of biologists, ornithologists, and anthropologists, and quotes and ideas from Native Americans like Black Elk and Chief Seattle, philosophers such as Martin Buber, Immanual Kant, and Ernest Becker, scientists like Darwin and Rachel Carson, poets such as Walt Whitman and Gerald Manley Hopkins, and artists like Willem de Kooning. The result is such a gentle awakening to the adult scientific Western mind. Finally using the Native American concept of One Spirit, Martin Buber's belief in the sacredness of God's creatures the animals, and Rachel Carson's warning of a future "silent spring," the author summarizes that the animals have a critical place in human life and spirituality. He ends the book by saying that if all the animals disappeared from the earth (by extinction) mankind would lose his place (physical and spiritual) in the world and his link (physical and spiritual) to the earth. After reading this book, I plan to read about the elephants (there are two books cited) and more about the birds (books cited here as well).

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this book is a sometimes touching look at why the author believes animals have souls. I already believed animals have souls, so I did not need any convincing, however. But this book would be good for anyone who wants to think about this question with some examples to get your thoughts moving.

One thing I disliked about this book: The author seems to assume that in order to respect and love our fellow souled beings, we should not be killing them and using them for food, etc. He used a quote from a famous Native American in his book to stress respect for our fellow animals; at the same time, he seemed to be leaning towards supporting vegetarianism from a moral perspective. Is this not ironic? Most Native Americans ate meat and used animal furs/skins for clothing and shelter. However, they killed the animals with a worshipful respect for their lives/souls which most people today do not have. So, respecting animals and believing they have souls does not have to be out of line with killing them and eating them.

The above issue just makes the book more thought-provoking, though, I suppose. Happy reading!

[Greenqueen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book for many reasons. This author's awareness and sensitivity brings us into the reality of other sentient beings largely ignored and mistreated within our modern world. Scientific evidence is showing us, over and over, how animals, alongside humans, share emotions, loving bonds, hopes and desires just as we do. To think otherwise is nothing short of ignorance or hubris. The more I learn of animals the more I see commonalities which inspires respect, awe, and love.

[Silvia Muntanyola Badia · Rating 4 out of 5]

En este libro Gary Kowalski nos brinda la oportunidad de vislumbrar "El alma de los animales". Según Mahatma Gandhi, se puede medir la grandeza de una nación y su progreso moral por la forma de tratar a sus animales.
Un libro con múltiples reflexiones, referencias de autores diversos y conceptos imprescindibles. Ojalá la bioespiritualidad nos ayude a reconocer lo sagrado en toda vida en este planeta azul en que vivimos. Los sentimientos y el alma no son exclusividad humana.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the way Kowalski weaves his spiritual experiences as a preacher into the text, connecting human needs and behaviors with those of animals. However, I found the piece to be lacking in depth and almost cliche. One point I enjoyed though was the idea that anthropomorphizing is not applying human characteristics to animals, but rather, identifying human characteristics in animals that we share.

[Martine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember feeling crushed as a kid when an adult told me that animals don't go to heaven because they don't have souls. Having been in the presence of many animals who were more compassionate than some of the people I knew, I didn't listen. I would have really loved to have read this book when I was a kid.

[Angie Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love animals this is a book for you. It will make you cry but it will touch your humanity in a way you never thought possible. This is a book about animal spirituality and it remind you how special animals truly are. They speak to us all the time but many don't listen. If you take the time to listen to the animals you will learn more than you could ever imagine.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic book--so moving--did not change my perspective as I already think animals are FAAARRR better than people anyway but was just beautifully written and had some amazing anecdotes. A real treasure.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched & written with deep compassion for animals. Some philosophies explored. other information I had no idea about. I would recommend this read, particularly to those who work with animals & for those who have become disconnected by the natural world.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animals are not inanimate objects without feeling and intellect but thinking, sentient individuals that deserve our respect.

[Deb Weina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy and fast read for a quiet afternoon. I don't disagree with what he shares since I already believe it by lived experience.

[Bryan Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Souls of Animals by parish minister Gary Kowalski revolves around a tricky central question: Do non-human animals have souls? Kowalski's answer is yes, but of course that depends on one's definition of the soul and the soul is notoriously difficult to define. As a result of the tacit assertion that animals do indeed have souls, this book is more of an attempt to define one.

The chapter titles offer something of a checklist. The criteria seem to be awareness of death, a sense of the mysterious, a capacity for creativity, a moral sense, the ability to love, playfulness, and self-awareness. But the best definition the book offers is that the soul is that which infuses life with sublimity. Maybe a little circular, but concise. The book ends with a call to action: "The environmental crisis is above all a spiritual crisis. And it will not be resolved until we can recapture the knowledge we seem to have lost: that we are not separate from the web of life but merely one strand in the design."

[Kristie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and thought the point of view interesting. The author is clearly a very thoughtful man who has studied and analyzed animal behavior - particularly where it intersects with human activity. The only thing that really frustrated me about the book is that the author would relate anecdotes - often about odd or sad animal behavior but he never lets the reader know how things worked out. There were any number of incidents where a brief explanation of any sort of resolution would have been very welcome. But perhaps that would have been a different book. An interesting read if you are fascinated by animal behavior, but not the best by any means.

[ᴍᴀʀɪᴇʟʟᴀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Me pregunto si es posible abrazar la totalidad de la creación (los insectos, las aves, las plantas, las criaturas salvajes y las domesticadas) con el mismo cariño que profesaba a ese viejo perro sabio y dulce por naturaleza. Si piedo aprender a amar tanto, entonces hay esperanzas para mí y, tal vez, para todos nosotros."

"Los animales, al igual que nosotros, son almas vivas. No son cosas. No son objetos. Tampoco son humanos. Sin embargo, también pasan por duelos. Aman. Bailan. Sufren. Conocen los picos y los abismos del ser."

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short book that should've been a quick read, but I had to keep putting it down out of boredom. I didn't care for the writing style, and it was poorly edited, so I kept losing focus. The author is a minister and wrote as if preparing a dry sermon versus making the content interesting with colorful stories and examples. The book is from the early '90s, so perhaps my expectations for fresh material (something i didn't already know, anyway) were too high!

[John Ulferts · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential book for anyone who has a soul and wants to become closer to God and God's creations. It is a beautiful book, and is timeless. At a time when the world is in the 6th extinction entirely caused by humankind, we must develop a new ethos to cherish all of God's creations and become better stewards to our four legged brothers and sisters.

[rhi✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very insightful and very in tune to my beliefs about animals. There was a lot of thought put into it by the author supported by real situations of animal behavior. It was really sweet and touching at times, overall a great read for me.

[Jim Cullison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kowalski's classic meditation on the spiritual complexity and profundity of animals is as powerful and poetic as it is persuasive. Easily read and deeply moving, it is worth reading and contemplating at length long afterwards.

[Fernanda Castro · Rating 3 out of 5]

No era lo que yo esperaba.

[Diana López · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro sencillo que deja bastante que desear si se quiere un análisis complejo de los animales no humanos. Aún así, deja buenas reflexiones sobre el respeto a todos los seres sintientes.

[river · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought provoking but lacking depth of analysis

[Stacy Galarza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. There are so many ways that we can see animals are like us, have souls. Great book!!

[Nancy Schalk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good reflection on the value and worth of our furry and feathered companions we share this planet with. So much more to life than we give credit to.

[Tami Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un hermoso libro que te enseña que todos los seres vivos somos iguales y que tenemos que aprender a convivir y a querernos para que nuestro planeta siga viviendo.

[Lisal Kayati Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple. Poignant. Stirring. There is no doubt in my mind that all animals have souls. Although this book is a bit dated - somethings don’t change- through the ages.

[Bobby · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I might say about The Souls of Animals must be tempered by two things. One, I come to this book already believing fully that if there is a such a thing as a "soul" and it is something that we humans have then there is no shadow of a doubt that many/most/all of our fellow animals have souls as well. Two, I've read kind of a lot of books on animals, at least by most people's standards. I say those two things first because they explain much in why I did not think a lot of this book. I didn't find it terribly insightful, interesting, or challenging. The anecdotes were not overly illuminating. Often times the chapters didn't really even seem to answer the questions that the title of said chapter posed.

That said, I wouldn't dissuade all from reading this book. It is not without its merits. It did have some insight and also is full of an on target, healthy view of the animals we share the planet with. It may be a good starter book for someone who has never thought or read about such things before. Otherwise, I might recommend a book like When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson instead.

[Rut · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book so quickly, I began on saturday naight and finish on Sunday morning. So I can say it's a good book. But, on the other hand, I think we can't confussed things. So, I'm against inhuman treatment to animals, I like it, I Know they have feelings, but we don't compare them with human. The book have some reference of important people of various fields of knowledge, that author use to convince of his idea.I know some as Turing or Morris. But he doesn't Know Ortega's sentence "animals didn't speak because they have nothing to say"
So, in my opinion animal haven't soul and they aren't intelligent as human are although they paint, they love or they play. They have instinct.
So, we love and care for animals but we don't think they are similar to us.

[d4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that I hope will inspire those who read it to reconsider the current lack of value society places on animals as individuals with their own needs and lives beyond being commodities. It isn't likely to hold much new information for seasoned AR advocates, but it wouldn't hurt to read it anyway--you might find it worth recommending to someone who isn't on the same page, so to speak. The author is a Reverend, which sets it slightly apart from the usual AR-related writing while remaining neutral enough not to offend those of other belief systems. The photographs included are kind of magnificent; I wish they were in color.

[Dave Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has some nice stories, and I am sure more than a few of us will find the stories touching. And maybe that's how this needs to be approached rather than as an academic read, in fairness. It doesn't really investigate the issues that it very briefly touches on, and doesn't really offer anything significantly new to the discussion that many will already be aware of (that animals are emotional beings for example). It probably wouldn't suffice to convince those unaware or uninterested in the issues though, and given it's title doesn't investigate the word "soul" effectively enough to fend off skeptisism over what it actually is saying.