The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters
The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters
by Christine Webb
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About the Book
An impassioned celebration of humility before the living world that leads us to a new understanding of other species—and ourselves
Darwin considered humans one part of the web of life, not the apex of a natural hierarchy. Yet today many maintain that we are the most intelligent, virtuous, successful species that ever lived. This flawed thinking enables us to exploit the earth towards our own exclusive ends, throwing us into a perilous planetary imbalance. But is this view and way of life inevitable? The Arrogant Ape shows that human exceptionalism is an ideology that relies more on human culture than our biology, more on delusion and faith than on evidence.
Harvard primatologist Christine Webb has spent years researching the rich social, emotional, and cognitive lives of our closest living relatives. She exposes the ways that many scientific studies are biased against other species and reveals underappreciated complexities of nonhuman life—from the language of songbirds and prairie dogs, to the cultures of chimpanzees and reef fishes, to the acumen of plants and fungi. With compelling stories and fresh research she gives us a paradigm-shifting way of looking at other organisms on their own terms, one that is revolutionizing our perception both of them and of ourselves.
Critiques of human exceptionalism tend to focus on our moral obligation towards other species. They overlook what humanity also stands to gain by dismantling its illusions of uniqueness and superiority. This shift in perspective fills us with a sense of awe and satisfies one of our oldest and deepest desires to belong to the larger whole we inhabit. What’s at stake is a better, sustainable way of life with the potential to heal and rejuvenate our shared planet.
About the Author
Christine Webb is an is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at New York University, where she is part of the Animal Studies program. She is a broadly trained primatologist with
expertise in social behavior, cognition, and emotion. She works with nonhuman primates in diverse settings and collaborates with scholars from the social sciences and humanities to reimagine the role of science in the growing charge to grant moral status to other animals. Her work has been covered by popular outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, and the BBC.
Editorial Reviews
“Webb debuts with a persuasive and accessible critique of anthropocentrism. She urges humans to relinquish their self-inflated top-dog status and recognize the symbiosis among organisms. As global warming and wildlife destruction threaten planetary health, Webb makes a convincing case for humility.” —Publishers Weekly
“Inspiring and potentially life-changing. After reading Webb’s book, it is hard to think of nonhuman animals in the same way. What makes Webb’s account novel and fresh is the sheer wealth of detail that she offers about the capabilities of nonhuman animals, and her use of that detail to support her plea for humility and awe. Her ultimate goal for arrogant apes, including scientists, is resonant. It is nothing less than a re-enchantment of the world.” —Cass Sunstein, Democracy Journal
“Christine Webb’s powerful new book is both a carefully crafted unpacking of the errors behind human exceptionalism and a practical guide to how we can unlearn our species arrogance. She draws from her intimate knowledge of great apes and a deep and evidenced empathy for other living beings. Building on the legacy of her mentor, Frans de Waal, Webb’s book is a passionate call on us to shape a better world as the humble apes of the future.” —Melanie Challenger, author of How to be Animal
“In her landmark book, Christine Webb makes clear that the notion that we’re the most important show in town—smarter than, better than, more important than, uniquely exceptional, above, and separate from other animals—has got it all wrong. This distorted view of humans in which we use ourselves as some sort of standard to which individuals of other species should strive is not only arrogant, but singularly ill-informed. I highly recommend The Arrogant Ape. We need a new mindset, a paradigm shift in which we decenter ourselves and work alongside other species to change the dismal road on which we are currently and recklessly traveling.” —Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals
“The Arrogant Ape is a multidisciplinary takedown of anthropocentrism. Bursting with vivid firsthand accounts of encounters with wild animals and a survey of cutting-edge research into animal cognition, Webb offers a deeply considered, self-reflective, and undeniably philosophical approach to the scientific study of animal behavior. Christine Webb is spearheading a paradigm shift in science; deftly folding in Indigenous and phenomenological perspectives to forge a hybrid approach to empirical knowledge-seeking. Her book is a modern exploration of the ancient speciesism problem, leading the reader toward a hopeful appeal that we can dispel our culturally acquired forms of anthropocentrism in service of a humbler path to understanding both the animal mind and humanity’s connection to the natural world. Webb will leave you in awe.” —Justin Gregg, author of If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal
“A thrilling, disconcerting, ultimately hopeful exposé of our species’ self-regarding prejudices. Webb puts us in our place (and a fine place that is, in fact), showing us how much more fascinating the world is if we see it as it is, rather than denigrating it and using it as a mere resource. A crucial and transformative read.” —Charles Foster, author of Cry of the Wild
“Christine Webb is the informed and ethical voice we urgently need. The Arrogant Ape convincingly argues that humans need not—even should not—be placed central to every discussion in science, in policy, or in considering how to live one’s life. This book will reframe the way you view animal welfare, and may even reframe the way you see.” —Alexandra Horowitz, author of Inside of a Dog
“The Arrogant Ape is among the best books I’ve ever read on what it means to be a human animal—perhaps, simply, the best book.” —Rob Dunn, author of Never Home Alone
“A brilliant book filled with insights into the living world we inhabit of diverse intelligences, forms of language, sensory feats, and entangled relations. Webb makes a powerful case against the bias of anthropocentrism that blinds us to Earth’s reality by making ‘man the measure of all things.’ In choosing to relinquish this delusion we become more virtuous, we acquire more valid knowledge about nature, and we give ourselves the chance to live in graceful coexistence with all life. A must-read on matters of critical importance at this pivotal moment for humanity and Earth.” —Eileen Crist, author of Abundant Earth
“Lively, engaging, and provocative. The Arrogant Ape shows that all too often our view of other species is based on a mistaken sense of superiority. Webb’s colorful call for a more realistic attitude to humans’ place in nature provides an ideal introduction to the far-reaching problems of anthropocentrism.” —Richard Wrangham, author of Catching Fire