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The Philosopher and the Wolf: Lessons from the Wild on Love, Death and Happiness by Mark Rowlands
pgfreire's review against another edition
5.0
Loved every bit of it. The story of a young philosopher and what he learned from his wolf: the social contract and our primate origins. Kind of reminds me of Desmond Morris and how looking at animals helps us understand ourselves.
blueyorkie's review against another edition
3.0
This work is a charming love story between a young philosophy professor and a wolf. This teacher will learn a lot from his wolf, and through their lives report, the author engages in a philosophical reflection. There are heartbreaking pages at the end of the book when the old wolf is first very ill, and his master has forced him to sting him; this book will appeal to anyone who enjoys philosophical thinking and loves animals.
kommatator's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident
cjcurtis's review against another edition
2.0
I'm vacillating between two and three stars on this one, but I think I'll end up with two. There were times, especially in the first half of the book, when Rowland's philosophical musings seemed insightful and original, and his anecdotes about his wolf were interesting and seemed to have a point. But the further along I got, the less focused the book felt. More importantly, I quickly tired of hearing about how crappy "simians" (apes and people) are compared to wolves. Rowland makes valid points, but avoids -- more and more conspicuously -- taking note of almost anything good about humanity. Later in the book, he admits to being a "misanthrope," so I guess that explains the antipathy, but it also explains what is wrong with the book: all of his thinking boils down to a distaste for people, coupled (sometimes rather awkwardly) with an almost blind adoration for wolves (and a sort of condescending indulgence of dogs). That's his prerogative, but a book can only be so good when that's all it has to go on. By the end of this one, it seems pretty clear that Rowland has realized he doesn't have much of a point to make, and the writing gets more and more repetitive as he attempts to delay the ending long enough to find one.
So, for people who love wolves and/or dislike humans, it probably serves well as a sort of affirmation of the reader's feelings. For anyone interested in the "Philosopher" part of the title, I think you are bound for disappointment.
So, for people who love wolves and/or dislike humans, it probably serves well as a sort of affirmation of the reader's feelings. For anyone interested in the "Philosopher" part of the title, I think you are bound for disappointment.
hubirdy97's review against another edition
4.0
Rowlands meditates on the relationship he formed and nurtured with a wolf he bought - Brenin - when he was living in the United States, from which he draws many philosophical lessons on life (and it’s impossible to remember all of them unless you study it in detail, but surely reason enough to reread it and internalise his philosophical musings). My favourite of which would be his references to Nietzsche and our simian inability to appreciate the completeness of every moment in itself because of our capacity to consider the past and project into the future - both of these, therefore, influencing how we undergo and experience the present. He also makes a compelling argument about humility and how humans are not all that superior to animals by considering different types of intelligence. All in all, this was a cogent and enthralling read which I definitely will come back to again.
venkyloquist's review against another edition
3.0
In a rare dash of enthusiasm and spurred on by an inherent love of canines, Mark Rowlands, 27 and Professor of Philosophy, ends up buying a wolf cub. Brenin, as the cub would be named, becomes an inseparable component of Rowland's life. Growing up to be a magnificent hunk of a wolf, Brenin bestows upon his owner some incandescent lessons on life, wit, wisdom, vanity, vilification, despair and hope. Brenin and Rowlands lead life in lockstep for eleven long years before the dreaded calling of cancer unfortunately plucks Brenin away from the warmth of his master. Or to put it more realistically, Rowlands is shorn of the tender warmth accorded to him by his "pet".
This narrative describing the confluence of feelings between an animal of the wild and a social animal of civilization sheds a fascinating light on various philosophical aspects of man's existence on Earth.
"The Philosopher and The Wolf" - Lessons from a Beast to Humanity
This narrative describing the confluence of feelings between an animal of the wild and a social animal of civilization sheds a fascinating light on various philosophical aspects of man's existence on Earth.
"The Philosopher and The Wolf" - Lessons from a Beast to Humanity