A mind-expanding exploration of the ethical bonds we share with the nonhuman
Moral relationships saturate the living world, and the line between the human and nonhuman is blurrier than we might think. Animals, Robots, Gods provides a bold new vision of ethics defined less by the individual mind or society and more by our interactions with those around us, whether they are the pets we keep, the gods we believe in, or the machines we endow with life.
Drawing on pioneering fieldwork around the globe by some of today’s leading researchers, acclaimed anthropologist Webb Keane invites us to expand our moral imagination. We learn about the ethical dilemmas of South Asian animal rights activists, Balinese cockfighters, cowboys, and Japanese robot fanciers. We meet a hunter in the Yukon who explains to a bear why it must come out of hibernation and generously give itself up to him, a cancer sufferer in Thailand who sees his tumor as a reincarnated ox, and a computer that persuades users to confess their anxieties as if they were patients on a psychiatrist’s couch. Through these and other stories, Keane challenges us to rethink our most basic ideas about who—and what—we deem worthy of moral consideration.
Brimming with charm, wit, and insight, Animals, Robots, Gods reveals how centuries of conversations between us and nonhumans inform our conceptions of morality and will continue to guide us in the age of AI and beyond.
- 192 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
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Information
Publisher
Princeton University PressYear
2025Print ISBN
9780691292311
9780691270937
eBook ISBN
9780691270944
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Moral Machines, Human Decisions
- 2. Humans: Between Life and Death
- 3. Near-Humans: Animals as Prey, Sacrifice, Workmates and Companions
- 4. Quasi-Humans: Robots, Avatars, Servants and Fetishes
- 5. Superhumans: Artificial Intelligence, Spirits and Shamans
- Coda: Moral Relativism, Human Realities
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgements
- Index
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Yes, you can access Animals, Robots, Gods by Webb Keane in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Ethics & Moral Philosophy. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.