The Redemption of the Animals

Quick Look

• What is our true relation to animals on earth?
• Book is based both on personal experience and wide-ranging research into the work of Steiner and others
• Offers practical steps for redeeming animals from their suffering

Explores the connection between humans and animals, and asks what our responsibility is towards our fellow creatures. Inspired by the insights of Rudolf Steiner.

Description

As human beings, what is our true relation to the animals on earth? What is our responsibility to our fellow creatures? Douglas Sloan explores these and other questions in this important book on the human–animal connection. His explorations are based on personal experience and wide-ranging research into the work of Rudolf Steiner and others, including scientist students of the inner life of animals and committed defenders of animal wellbeing.

Rudolf Steiner describes how from the beginning of creation humans and animals have been united in deep kinship. A loss of the sense of this human–animal connection has resulted in an immense animal suffering the world over. Many questions arise: are animals conscious? Do they have a spiritual reality, souls and selves? Do they have emotional empathy, language and memory? Are we justified in eating them, hunting them, experimenting on them?

This book argues that we must start to relate to animals in a completely new way -- a relationship that understands and respects animals’ inner spiritual being, and one that requires a deep grasp of our own spiritual being in relation to theirs – and offers help to do so, both in concept and in everyday action.

Reviews

'With Redemption of the Animals Douglas Sloan has written an excellent book. His subject is well researched, lucidly written and deals with one of the most important issues of our time. It deserves to be widely read...'
-- Rosemary Usselman, New View

Author

Douglas Sloan is a professor at the Teacher's College, Columbia University, New York.