A review by hubirdy97
The Philosopher and the Wolf: Lessons from the Wild on Love, Death, and Happiness, by Mark Rowlands

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.