Much Like Us - What Science Reveals about the Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviour of Animals

Surprising, humourous and thought-provoking, Much Like Us invites us on a journey to explore the inner lives of animals.

What really differentiates us from our relatives in the animal world? And what can they teach us about ourselves? Taking these questions as his starting point, Norbert Sachser presents fascinating insights into the inner lives of animals, revealing what we now know about their thoughts, feelings and behaviour. By turns surprising, humourous and thought-provoking, Much Like Us invites us on a journey around the animal kingdom, explaining along the way how dogs demonstrate empathy, why chimpanzees wage war and how crows and ravens craft tools to catch food. Sachser brings the science to life with examples and anecdotes drawn from his own research, illuminating the vast strides in understanding that have been made over the last 30 years. He ultimately invites us to challenge our own preconceptions - the closer we look, the more we see the humanity in our fellow creatures.

Inhaltsverzeichnis:

Preface; 1. Typical human, typical animal?: Reconceptualising the animal - an Introduction; 2. Ginger boris doesn't like to be alone: On behaviour, stress, and the blessing of socially stable relationships; 3. Cats are happy when they're playing: On the well-being, emotions, and humane treatment of animals; 4. Nature vs Nurture: Genes, environment, and behaviour: New answers to an old question; 5. Clever dogs and ingenious ravens: All animals can learn, many can think, and some can even recognise themselves in a mirror; 6. Animal personalities: The development of behaviour and the discovery of individuality; 7. Altruistic squirrels and egotistical lions: The sociobiological revolution; 8. Animals like us: A summary; Bibliography.

Rezension:

'A masterful synthesis of science and storytelling by one of the world's leading experts in animal behaviour. In Much Like Us, Sachser's remarkable ability to communicate scientifically complex concepts with clarity and humour is on full display. The result: a remarkable book providing a new understanding of the origins and nature of 'animal' (non-human and human) behaviour. His remarkable new book contains many of the insights his scientific colleagues have admired for decades. Yet, his engaging and elegant writing make this book deeply accessible for a wide range of audiences: from the academic scholars and their students to anyone interested in why and how we human animals came to behave as we do. A deeply insightful and powerful book, which transforms our understanding of not only behaviour, but of our place as humans within the tree of life.' B. Natterson-Horowitz, Harvard Medical School, USA