When elephants weep: the emotional lives of animals

320 Pages·1995·1.69 MB·English

by  Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

HIGH PRAISE FOR
THE STUNNING NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP
by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy
“A REMARKABLY ENGAGING, SURPRISINGLY RICH
portrait of emotions in the animal kingdom, its wealth of anecdotal evidence belying the
scientific (and religious) cant that beasts cannot feel anger, love, jealousy, relief,
curiosity, compassion. . . . No matter how you feel about the animal rights movement,
this book will give you pause.”
—Sun-Times (Chicago)
“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
“WITH CAREFUL DOCUMENTATION AND A COPIOUS BIBLIOGRAPHY, [MASSON AND
McCARTHY] OFFER COMPELLING EVIDENCE that animals possess sensibilities similar
to our own. . . . When Elephants Weep presents persuasive evidence that while humans
many think of themselves as at the top of the food chain, to use a term popularized in
The Lion King, emotions are not their exclusive domain.”
—Detroit Free Press
“FASCINATING . . . It contains the beginnings of a badly needed perspective, perhaps
even a reordering of priorities. As a bonus, it is a wonderful, quick tour of the animal
kingdom. A kind of nature lover’s rendezvous with reality.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“FASCINATING, MOVING, REVEALING. A wonderful read and a must-have for anyone
who cares about, or is in awe of, animals.”
—Alex Pacheco, president, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
“A FASCINATING EXPLORATION of the question: Do animals experience emotions? . . .
Anyone who ever has bonded with a pet has reached his own conclusion, of course, but
those who enjoyed Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’s The Hidden Life of Dogs will find new
grist for thought here.”
—Richmond Times Dispatch
“Jeffrey Masson and Susan McCarthy . . . take a radically humane position, displaying
with compelling anecdotes what they take to be the moral quality of animal sympathy
and the dignity of animal suffering.”
—The New Republic
“I enjoyed When Elephants Weep enormously and consider it a milestone in the battle to
try and make Homo sapiens realize that he is only one member of an enormous family.”
—Farley Mowat, author, Never Cry Wolf and Woman in the Mists
“[Masson and McCarthy] have done their research carefully and make a compelling
case.”
—Diversion
“POWERFUL, SENSITIVE AND THOROUGH, When Elephants Weep constitutes a milestone
in the human effort to explore the mysteries in the hearts of our fellow creatures. Packed
with moving, careful observations, the book exposes truths we can no longer afford to
ignore: that other animals’ emotional experiences may be as rich and varied as our own,
and their lives worthy of our respect and reverence.”
—Sy Montgomery, author, Walking with the Great Apes and Spell of the Tiger
“The authors make a convincing case that animals have complex inner lives that are
constantly manifesting themselves in our world.”
—Outside (Santa Fe, N.M.)
“A TRULY REMARKABLE BOOK . . . A lucid and readable introduction to the concept of
animal emotions. They succeed in bridging the gap between the scientist, who is
reluctant to acknowledge evidence of animal emotion, and the layperson, who more
readily speaks of animals in emotional terms. . . . Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal
“When Elephants Weep continues and brings into the twentieth century the work that
Darwin began on the emotional lives of animals. Masson and McCarthy are not afraid to
ascribe to animals the emotions that we feel: fear and hope, love and grief, joy and rage,
shame and compassion, even an appreciation of beauty and a religious impulse. More
important, they provide the evidence to justify these claims. This is a book that will
make you see animals in a different way—the right way.”
—Pete Singer, author, Animal Liberation
Also by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson:
MY FATHER’S GURU:
A Journey Through Spirituality and Disillusion FINAL ANALYSIS:
The Making and Unmaking of a Psychoanalyst
AGAINST THERAPY:
Emotional Tyranny and the Myth of Psychological Healing A DARK SCIENCE:
Women, Sexuality and Psychiatry in the Nineteenth Century THE ASSAULT ON TRUTH:
Freud’s Suppression of the Seduction Theory THE OCEANIC FEELING:
The Origins of Religious Sentiment in Ancient India THE COMPLETE LETTERS OF
SIGMUND FREUD
TO WILHELM FLIESS 1887–1904
(Editor) THE PEACOCK’S EGG: Love Poems from Ancient India
(Translations by W. S. Merwin, Editor)

For the Fu
and Fiona
Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Searching the Heart of the Other
1 In Defense of Emotions
2 Unfeeling Brutes
3 Fear, Hope, and the Terrors of Dreams
4 Love and Friendship
5 Grief, Sadness, and the Bones of Elephants
6 A Capacity for Joy
7 Rage, Dominance, and Cruelty in Peace and War
8 Compassion, Rescue, and the Altruism Debate
9 Shame, Blushing, and Hidden Secrets to
10 Beauty, the Bears, and the Setting Sun
11 The Religious Impulse, Justice, and the Inexpressible
Conclusion: Sharing the World with Feeling Creatures
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
In the process of researching this book we talked to many scientists,
animal trainers, and others whose expertise was invaluable. We
would particularly like to acknowledge the help of George
Archibald, Mattie Sue Athan, Luis Baptista, Kim Bartlett, John
Beckman, Mark Bekoff, Tim Benneke, Joseph Berger, Nedim
Buyukmihci, Lisa De Nault, Ralph Dennard, Pat Derby, Ian Dunbar,
Mary Lynn Fischer, Maria Fitzgerald, Lois Flynne, Roger Fouts,
William Frey II, Jane Goodall, Wendy Gordon, Donald Griffin, David
Gucwa, Nancy Hall, Ralph Heifer, Abbie Angharad Hughes, Gerald
Jacobs, William Jankowiak, Marti Kheel, Adriaan Kortlandt, Charles
Lindholm, Sarah McCarthy, David Mech, Mary Midgley, Myrna
Milani, Jim Mullen, Kenneth Norris, Cindy Ott-Bales, Joel Parrott,
Irene Pepperberg, Leonard Plotnicov, Karen Reina of Bristol-Myers
Squibb, Diana Reiss, Lynn Rogers, Vivian Siegel, Barbara Smuts,
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, Ron Whitfield, and Gerald S. Wilkinson,
among others, for their patience in talking to us. We are also
grateful to Jennifer Conroy, Joanne Ritter, Mike Del Ross, and Kathy
Finger of Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael. Any errors we
have made and any wild speculations, particularly those deemed
scientifically disreputable, are not to be laid at their doors.
More personal thanks are owed to our friends and family also for
their support and real assistance, especially Daniel Gunther, Joseph
Gunther, Kitty Rose McCarthy, Martha Coyote, John McCarthy,
Mary Susan Kuhn, Andrew Gunther, Barbara and Gerald Gunther,
Thomas Goldstein, Martin Levin, and Bernard Taper; and Daidie