The Moral Lives of Animals
Science-writer Peterson (Visions of Calaban, 1993; Demonic Males, 1996) begins his survey of morality in nonhuman animals with a look at Melville�s Moby-Dick. In contrasting Ahab�s and Starbuck�s views on how to think about animals, the author sets up a dichotomy that he explores throughout: Is Moby Dick (and, by extension, are all animals) alive, aware, and morally responsible, as Ahab believes, or is he merely a dumb brute operating on instinct, as Starbuck asserts? Peterson suggests a third way of viewing animal minds, which allows for the existence of true minds as humans think of minds, but minds that are alien to our minds. The human ability for language means that our moral rules can be written down, but, as the author points out, the invisible structure of animal morality is revealed in their behavior. As he breaks down moral issues of behavior into larger issues such as authority, possession, cooperation, flexibility, and peace, Peterson gives examples from scientific studies of animal behavior that demonstrate the moral �rule� in question. Species range from fireflies to bonobos, but all illustrate moral behavior and all show us that we are not alone in possessing a moral code. --Nancy Bent