You must carry me now

Wilson, Mark ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4123-2118 and Snaebjornsdottir, Bryndis (2015) You must carry me now. In: Visualising the Animal Conference, 18-19 June 2015, University of Cumbria, Carlisle, UK. (Unpublished) Full text not available from this repository.

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Abstract

Conference summary: What is it to be human? Traditionally, human nature is set in opposition to the nature of animals. Yet, at least since evolutionary theory, humans are understood as part of the animal kingdom. Philosophical discourse is investigating a number of questions regarding the nature of animals and our relationship with them. The dichotomies of rationality and instinct or civility and wildness are at the heart of such deliberations. Ethical debates around the treatment and our relationship with animals are at the forefront. How are these debates informed by the traditions of representations of animals? Our relationship to animals is ambivalent and based on irrational distinctions. In our society certain animals are considered ‘food’, others are loved as pets whilst their kin are used in medical testing. Historically, western society relies on domesticated animals and their products (beyond food), but urban and agricultural developments threaten habitats and thereby animal (as well as plant) species. We recognise endangered species, but only engage with the protection of fluffy mammals as opposed to less appealing reptiles and insects.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Departments:	Academic Departments > Institute of Arts (IOA) > Fine Arts
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	11 Jan 2019 16:30
Last Modified:	12 Jan 2024 13:30
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/4359