A New History of What It Means to Be Human
Starred review from April 19, 2021
Why do humans consider themselves separate from the animal kingdom, and what are the implications of that, asks Challenger (On Extinction), an environmental philosophy researcher, in this winning rumination. Challenger opens with paradoxes: “The world is now dominated by an animal that doesn’t think it’s an animal. And the future is being imagined by an animal that doesn’t want to be an animal.” The belief that humans are superior to other animals, Challenger writes, has led to climate change, which puts all life in danger, as well as technological breakthroughs that allow humans to transform life, such as by cloning pets to “assuage the muddled grief of their owners.” She calls for humans to get back in touch with the “blunt realities of being an animal” and offers plentiful examples of animal ingenuity and complexity—such as the problem-solving capabilities of ants, and sea sponges that find means to outlast pollution—to illustrate that intelligence isn’t a strictly human phenomenon. Challenger convincingly demonstrates that “the human form of consciousness and its capacity to deliver meaning” doesn’t negate the natural world’s “spectacle of richness.” Impassioned and intelligent, this is a treatise with the possibility to change minds. Photos.