This roundtable explores the continuity between human and animal minds, examining emotions, consciousness, and behavior across species through perspectives from documentary film, animal ethics, and cultural history. It considers the ethical implications of how we understand and relate to animals, and how these insights inform both science and our treatment of other living beings.
Speakers
Josh Aronson
Producer/Director/Writer, Documentary Filmmaker
Oscar-nominated documentary director (Sound & Fury) whose films explore music, disability, and human-animal bonds, including work on service dogs and PTSD treatment
Elizabeth Hess
Author, Animal Studies
Author of Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would be Human, one of the only biographies of an animal, and Vice Chair of the Animal Legal Defense Fund
James Serpell
Marie A. Moore Chair of Animal Ethics & Welfare, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Creator of the widely-used Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ); studies the history and impact of human-animal relationships
Media
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