“Hard-hitting yet lucid, lyrical yet well-argued, Passionate Animals: Emotions, Animal Ethics, and Moral Pragmatics is a superb example of philosophy that makes a difference. Mara-Daria Cojocaru wrestles with how we habitually think of and interact with the animal world and how we should go about changing these habits by renewing our understanding of what it means to be ‘human.’ In so doing, Cojocaru revives, renews, and adapts the best of the pragmatist and Aristotelian traditions by putting authentic self-reflection and rich philosophical conversation to work in addressing a salient and pressing moral problem with vigour, subtlety, and precision.”
— Joshua Forstenzer, University of Sheffield
"Drawing on insights of the American pragmatists and Mary Midgley, Cojocaru provides an engaging and uncompromising analysis of animal ethics in political context. Passionate Animals is a must-read for those seeking philosophical clarity and real-world guidance on human-animal relations."
— Gregory S. McElwain, The College of Idaho
"This is the most engaging and original book on animal ethics (and more besides) that I have read in years. It is a compelling example of what Mary Midgley has called 'philosophical plumbing' - revealing the complexity and crucial importance of our judgements and passions with regard to the non-human animals we live alongside."
— Alasdair Cochrane, University of Sheffield
"Passionate Animals offers a novel and thought-provoking approach to the convergence position in animal ethics. Eliciting Charles Peirce, John Dewey, and Mary Midgley as philosophical forebearers, Cojocaru gives voice to a pluralistic and pragmatic animal protectionist position set on protecting sentient animals for their own sake, putting an abrupt end to unnecessary suffering and harm. Advocating open-mindedness, selflessness, and hope, Cojocaru draws nuanced conceptions of animality and emotion into conjoint inquiry and philosophical plumbing. Cojocaru convincingly argues that philosophy can offer genuine visions of how institutions and rules can be improved; it can irritate and systematize the habits of thinking, feeling, and acting, conjuring maps of what is still possible."
— Lee A. McBride, The College of Wooster