Description: Ark of the Possibility: The Animal World in Merleau-Ponty explores the theme of animality in the philosophy of French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty.
Review Quotes:
"Ark of the Possible knits together the philosophic traditions of phenomenology and pragmatism to weave a wonderful tapestry of intellectual reflection on animals, nature, and humankind. Dillard-Wright bridges the oft-contested divide between inter-species morality and environmental ethics, and what's more he develops a profound exploration of animality into a full-blown philosophy of life and world. Students of animal studies will find his essay an enlightening enquiry indeed." --Ralph R. Acampora, Hofstra University
"Adding to the burgeoning literature on animal issues from the tradition of Continental thought, Dillard-Wright provides a careful exegesis and innovative extension of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of the lived-body/lived- world. Common to humans and other animals, bodily knowledge of the immediately given sense of our physical capabilities and vulnerability provides the ground of a proto-ethic that encompasses the treatment of individual animals and species preservation. 'When species disappear, words disappear, worlds disappear.' Individuals suffer and we are all impoverished." --Kenneth Shapiro, Animals and Society Institute