From Aristotle through the Church Fathers to Descartes, the prevailing view was always that animals are ‘dumb’ and that only humans can think and speak; the study of animals fell within the natural sciences. Until recently – for in the last few decades, the humanities and social sciences have begun to recognise animals as a blind spot in their respective fields. Meanwhile, a wide range of research from the new, interdisciplinary field known as Human-Animal Studies shows that many animals, too, possess rich forms of language and culture.
In this presentation, we will look at recent insights into what animals have to say to one another and to us humans – and how, slowly but surely, we are learning to live alongside them in our diverse and therefore multicultural society...
Each insight session comprises two individual presentations by two different speakers. In this session, Carl Miller and Maarten Reesink will share their insights on two different topics.
