In this episode, Claudia talks to Marc Bekoff about the concept of ‘cognitive ethology’ and how researchers can better learn about animals through attentively watching them and taking seriously their personal experiences. They touch on some of the tensions of how you can ‘know’ other animals’ experiences through and why taking the time to understand their worlds is so important.
Date recorded: 14 August 2020
Marc Bekoff is professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has published 31 books, won many awards for his research on animal behaviour, animal emotions, compassionate conservation, and animal protection, and is a former Guggenheim Fellow. Marc’s latest books are Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do and Unleashing Your Dog: A Field Guide to Giving Your Canine Companion the Best Life Possible (with Jessica Pierce) and he also publishes regularly for Psychology Today. Marc and Jessica have recently written a book about what the world will be like for dogs as and when humans disappear (Dogs Gone Wild: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World Without Humans, forthcoming). In 1986 Marc won the Master’s age-graded Tour de France. Connect with mark on his website (marcbekoff.com) or Twitter (@MarcBekoff).
Featured readings/videos: The Question of Animal Awareness: Evolutionary Continuity and Mental Experience by Donald R. Griffen; Rewilding our Hearts: Building Pathways of Compassion and Coexistence, Hidden tales of yellow snow: What a dog’s nose knows – Making sense of scents by Marc Bekoff
Thank you to A.P.P.L.E for sponsoring this podcast, Gordon Clarke (@_con_sol_) for the bed music, and Jeremy John (Website) for the logo.
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