Dance of the Arabian Babbler

Vinciane Despret is a philosopher and psychologist who has published on the relation between the human and the animal. Her most recent books include What Would Animals Say If We Asked the Right Questions? (Minnesota, 2016), Au Bonheur des Morts, and Habiter en Oiseau.jeffrey bussolini is associate professor of sociology and anthropology at the City University of New York and codirector of the Center for Feline Studies. She is coeditor of The Philosophical Ethology of Vinciane Despret.

"The naturalist’s eye guides the philosopher’s reflection in Vinciane Despret’s delicate study of philosophical anthropology and ethology in dialogue with Isabelle Stengers and Bruno Latour. In a beautiful translation by jeffrey bussolini, Despret explores the origin story of Amotz Zahavi’s ‘handicap principle,’ a kind of species-specific potlatch (display and gaze), touching on problems of anthropomorphism, zoomorphism, and animal behavior. Underlining the ‘influence of the observer,’ and including the conflict between mathematical models and embedded interpretation, Despret offers a fascinating inquiry into the human and the animal."-Babette Babich, Fordham University"It is with this book that Vinciane Despret introduced her unique research style: follow scientists with the same care that they follow their animals and select among animals those that render their scientists most interesting! This is how she taught her readers to escape the stultifying ‘voice over’ of so many nature narratives. Be ready for quite a dance."-Bruno Latour

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsTranslator’s Introductionjeffrey bussoliniIntroductionPart I. The Ethological Debates1. The Theoretical Context: The Two Paradoxes of the Theory of EvolutionAltruismSexual Selection2.  Rituals Between Altruism and Reproductive FunctionPart II. The Dance of the Babbler3. The Arabian Babbler4. Models and Methods: Outline of a Field Study5. Narratives and Metaphors6. Models and FictionsConclusionsNotes