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Book Description
In this first-of-its-kind study, biologists, animal trainers, and behaviorists offer proof of animal emotions. Their findings prompt fresh ideas about human-animal interaction.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
An examination of the inner lives of animals, arguing that they possess an emotional sensibility not unlike that of humans.
From School Library Journal
YA?Animals do in fact lead emotional lives, according to Masson. He has managed to find hundreds of anecdotes from the published works and field studies of such noted behaviorists as Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Cynthia Moss that support his theory. It seems that, despite the fact that anthropomorphism is among the worst of scientific taboos, these respected scientists cannot help but notice the similarities between human and animal behavior. Chapters are organized by topic, such as fear, love, grief, and even compassion and beauty. An index provides access by species and by personal name of both people and animals. An excellent resource in psychology, this title will also be a useful addition for animal research. Its clear and conversational style makes it interesting for general readers as well. A well-documented, compelling, and thought-provoking defense of animal emotions.? Robin Deffendall, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
From Booklist
In his new book, erstwhile Freudian scholar and psychoanalyst Masson gathers, with the help of McCarthy, the evidence to date for the existence of emotions and, hence, something approaching human consciousness in animals. The various researchers' observations on the feelingful behaviors of dolphins, apes, bears, lions, elephants, and other well-studied creatures that Masson and McCarthy recount will not be news to those who keep even desultorily abreast of ethology--something that, given the plethora of naturalist TV programs, books, and reportage, isn't hard to do. Masson and McCarthy do a commendable job of synthesizing the material they tackle, however, making it efficiently readable. Finally, Masson succinctly and without any radical breast-beating makes, arguably as well as anyone ever has, the moral case for ceasing the exploitation and slaughter of animals. Ray Olson
Book Description
In this first-of-its-kind study, biologists, animal trainers, and behaviorists offer proof of animal emotions. Their findings prompt fresh ideas about human-animal interaction.
Ingram
A study of the complex emotional lives of animals provides fascinating insights into and anecdotes about the existence of animal emotion and offers a compelling analysis of the ways in which humans treat animals. Reprint. 60,000 first printing.
From the Publisher
This national bestseller exploring the complex emotional lives of animals was hailed as "a masterpiece" by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and as "marvelous" by Jane Goodall.
The popularity of When Elephants Weep has swept the nation, as author Jeffrey Masson appeared on Dateline NBC, Good Morning America, and was profiled in People for his ground-breaking and fascinating study. Not since Darwin's The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals has a book so thoroughly and effectively explored the full range of emotions that exist throughout the animal kingdom.
From dancing squirrels to bashful gorillas to spiteful killer whales, Masson and coauthor Susan McCarthy bring forth fascinating anecdotes and illuminating insights that offer powerful proof of the existence of animal emotion. Chapters on love, joy, anger, fear, shame, compassion, and loneliness are framed by a provocative re-evaluation of how we treat animals, from hunting and eating them to scientific experimentation. Forming a complete and compelling picture of the inner lives of animals, When Elephants Weep assures that we will never look at animals in the same way again.
"Fascinating...Compassionate...A book to be read more than once...A kind of nature lover's rendezvous with reality."--Philadelphia Inquirer
"In this impassioned volume [Masson and McCarthy] argue their case with intriguing examples culled from scientific literature...In addition to offering a fascinating array of animals, it convincingly argues that their emotional life is an area worthy of scientific exploration."--People
Reader Reviews
Pseudo-scientific nonsense, January 10, 2003
Reviewer: from Joplin, MO
A great disappointment! The author proposes to prove that animals have a rich emotional range that humans can understand and interact with, but offers no rigorous evidence whatever! His argument is to repeat again and again assertions along the lines of "People who work with animals a LOT will certainly tell you that animals really do experience emotions". Well, there it is: the whole book in a nutshell. Anyone hoping for revealing research and authoritative insights will be left wanting. What drivel! Save your money and watch some pop-expose on E! instead -- it'll be more engaging and far more scientific.
long overdue critique of how academia "thinks" about animals, October 28, 1999
Reviewer: from duluth, mn
This book has been an eye-opener for me. It outlines the hidden assumptions, as well as the explicit scientific philosophies, behind the academic world's disrespect and irreverence for animals. Because it analyzes and weighs ideas, it is not an easy read in many sections--thus, I think, the number of reviews which gave it 1 or 2 stars. Like some readers, I thought there would be a lot more anecdotes in the book, and yet, I learned a lot more about the flaws in how we think about animals from the authors' discussions about human viewpoints. Be prepared to put on your thinking cap when you sit down with this book--although there are entertaining vignettes, that's not the main point. Also, the reader(s) who were incensed about the authors' "attack" on scientific method did not closely read the text, I believe. The authors' arguments were based on voluminous research and are in line with many dissenting scientists' viewpoints. I find that there are many folks who believe in reductionist science so strongly that it becomes almost a religion for them--and when their "religion" is "attacked", they simply ignore the evidence on the other side whilst saying the opposing views are bogus. The authors should probably take it as a positive sign that they have triggered this sort of outrage. This book is aimed at minds willing to work, rather than be spoonfed. If you want an easy read, buy "Ring of Bright Water" or something along those lines.
Flawed But Worthwhile Exploration of an Important Subject, April 10, 2003
Reviewer: from McLean, VA United States
In "When Elephants Weep", author Jeffrey Moussaief Masson attempts to demonstrate that humans are far from being the only animals to lead complex emotional lives. If someone wanted to make a case for animal rights, it would probably have a greater chance of success if it were based on animal intelligence, as that is much easier to prove and quantify than emotions. But there is already a body of literature on animal intelligence, and many researchers continue to pursue an understanding in that area. This is why Jeffrey Masson has written a book on animal emotions. It is a topic that is very much underrepresented in literature, probably because the idea of animal emotions is much vilified in the scientific community. The content of "When Elephants Weep" comprises, almost entirely, evidence of the existence of emotions -some primitive, some complex- in animals other than humans. Most of the evidence is anecdotal, although there are some examples of controlled studies as well. Most of the emotions that are discussed fit into these broad categories: fear, hope, love, sadness, grief, rage, compassion, shame, aesthetic appreciation, and a sense of justice. Apart from the evidence presented, the text contains a lot of criticism of the scientific community's staunch reluctance to acknowledge the existence of emotions in animals on the basis that any such idea would be anthropomorphic. But the fact is that the scientific community can no more prove the existence of emotions in humans than it can in animals. And it will not be able to do so until it possesses the technology to identify and detect the neuropathways responsible for emotions. Until then, we accept that humans have emotions based on their behavior and our own experience. The author believes it perfectly reasonable to acknowledge the emotional lives of animals for the same reasons. The quality of the writing itself in "When Elephants Weep" is not especially good, but I do recognize that it is very difficult to produce a pleasant and engaging writing style when one is simply cataloging a lot of data. And the author occasionally does seem to be imagining emotions where they could not possibly exist. But I give this book 4 stars and recommend it because it tackles an important subject that we read about all too little. And, despite its faults, readers will come away from this book having learned a lot about the lives of animals. If you need more encouragement, Dr. Jane Goodall has given the book high praise.
Compelling Look at animal emotions, August 13, 2002
Reviewer: from Stanardsville, VA
Mr. Masson wrote a book on a topic that desperately needed to be
studied and brought to the public and scientific eyes: the Emotional Lives of Animals. All pet lovers and people that work with animals know that animals feel and exhibit emotions. Mr Masson does a good job of making this point come across in a psuedo-scientific way. I say psuedo because, as of yet, there is no real scientific way of defining or examining emotions except through observations and comparisions to our own experiences and lives.
At times Mr Masson does seem to forget about the emotions of his readers and drags some messages on a bit too long. He doesn't really allow us, the readers, to become emotionally connected to his research and observations. This is the only reason I gave this book a 4 instead of a 5. It is a good book that anyone who wants to observe/study or be confident in the facts that they knew animals had emotions should read. Thank You Mr Masson.
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