Thesis--Copenhagen. / Summary in Danish. Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-206).

Thesis--Copenhagen. / Summary in Danish. Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-206).

Zugl.: Köln, Univ., Diss.,2008

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2003. / Title from title page screen, viewed October 17, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Jan C. Susina (chair), C. Anita Tarr, Cynthia A. Huff. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-184) and abstract. Also available in print.

Habilitation - Universität, Zürich, 2004/05. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 380-412) and indexes.

This dissertation investigates Aristotle’s theory of phantasia as a cognitive ability, in terms of which mental content is available to the mind of rational beings. The focus is on Catherine Osborne’s extension of phantasia to nonhuman animals in order to allow for and explain non-human animal behaviour in terms of a rational paradigm, which de-emphasises, and does not rely on, linguistic ability. This paradigm for understanding animal behaviour as rational supports, and is supported by, modern theories of cognitive ethology, and argues for the ability of animals to share in conceptual thought. The recognition of rationality in animals by means of this paradigm bears ethical consequences for the treatment of animals. / Classics and Modern European Languages / M.A. (Classical Studies)

Central to animal studies is the question of words and how they are used in relation to wordless beings such as non-human animals. This issue is addressed by the writer D.H. Lawrence, and the focus of this thesis is the linguistic vulnerability of humans and non-humans in his novel Women in Love, a subject that will be explored with the help of the philosopher Jacques Derrida’s text The Animal That Therefore I Am. The argument is that Women in Love illustrates the human subjection to and constitution in language, which both enables human thinking and restricts the human ability to think without words. This linguistic vulnerability causes a similar vulnerability in non-human animals in two ways. First, humans tend to imagine others, including non-verbal animals, through words, a medium they exist outside of and therefore cannot be defined through. Second, humans are often unperceptive of non-linguistic means of expression and they therefore do not discern what non-human animals may be trying to communicate to them, which often enables humans to justify abuse against non-humans. In addition, the novel shows how this shared but unequal vulnerability can sometimes be dissolved through the likewise shared but equal physical vulnerability of all animals if a human is able to imagine the experiences of a non-human animal through their shared embodiment rather than through human language. Hence the essay shows the importance of recognizing the limitations of language and of being aware of how the symbolizing effect of words influences the human treatment of its others.

This thesis demonstrates the ways that nonhuman characters in the literature of Elizabeth Bishop and Gerald Vizenor subvert anthropocentrism, thereby contributing to an ongoing reconsideration of political and ethical approaches to species discourse. Jacques Derrida's work on the philosophical questions regarding nonhuman animals is combined with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's postcolonial perspective on "subaltern speaking" and representation, while Gerald Vizenor's theory of "survivance" provides the theoretical grounding for approaching literary representations of animals within this project. The authors in this study challenge false hierarchical species divisions by constructing fictional spaces that imagine the perspectives of nonhuman beings, consider the importance interspecies relationships, and recontextualize the voices and communication of nonhumans. In providing these counter-narratives, these authors establish a relationship with readers that invites them to reconsider the ramifications of their own ideology of species, reminding them that theory and practice must coexist. / by Tiffany J. Frost. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

"June 2003." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 285-301). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

This dissertation investigates Aristotle’s theory of phantasia as a cognitive ability, in terms of which mental content is available to the mind of rational beings. The focus is on Catherine Osborne’s extension of phantasia to nonhuman animals in order to allow for and explain non-human animal behaviour in terms of a rational paradigm, which de-emphasises, and does not rely on, linguistic ability. This paradigm for understanding animal behaviour as rational supports, and is supported by, modern theories of cognitive ethology, and argues for the ability of animals to share in conceptual thought. The recognition of rationality in animals by means of this paradigm bears ethical consequences for the treatment of animals. / Classics and Modern European Languages / M.A. (Classical Studies)