Trans-species Living: An Interview with Gay Bradshaw

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animal consciousness, animal emotions, animal liberation, animality, community, consciousness, human-animal relationships, mutual reciprocity, mutuality, trans-species, trans-species psychology

What is trans-species psychology and how did you get involved in starting this new field?

Trans-species psychology describes a common model of brain, mind, and behavior for all animals, human inclusive. It draws from research in three main fields: neuroscience, ethology, and psychology. Why “trans” and why “psychology”?

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Encounters with Animal Minds: Lessons in Interspecies Relationships and Intersubjectivity (Part II)

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animal behavior, Barbara Smuts, consciousness, human-animal relationships, interspecies communication, interspecies relationships, intersubjectivity, mutuality

In part one, I touched on the tremendous insight into animality in Barbara Smuts’ article “Encounters with Animal Minds.”  However, the main themes of her narrative revolved around interspecies relationships and the concept of intersubjectivity.  Using personal narratives to describe her research experience with a baboon tribe in Africa and her intimate experience with dog companion Safi, she creates a theory of interspecies relationships based on direct experience.  Despite her focus on direct experience and phenomenological insight, she doesn’t stray too far from her scientific roots.  She concludes the paper with seven concrete stages she discovered in building interspecies relationships.

Animal Oppression: An Ecological Approach

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abolitionism, autonomy, human-animal bond, interdependence, justice, liberation, mutual reciprocity, mutuality, oppression, relationships

What do we mean when we refer to animal oppression?  How does oppression of animals operate?  How would animal liberation overcome animal oppression?  What does animal liberation mean?  I use the phrases “animal liberation” and “animal oppression” on a regular basis, to the point where I had to take a step back and assess what I meant from these phrases.  Before formulating my own conceptualization of these terms, I wanted to know the brief history of “oppression” and “liberation” and how activists and philosophers describe them.