Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life
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- Create Date：2021-11-15 05:21:26
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：John N. Gray
- ISBN：1250800250
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Summary
The author of Straw Dogs， famous for his provocative critiques of scientific hubris and the delusions of progress and humanism， turns his attention to cats--and what they reveal about humans' torturous relationship to the world and to themselves。
The history of philosophy has been a predictably tragic or comical succession of palliatives for human disquiet。 Thinkers from Spinoza to Berdyaev have pursued the perennial questions of how to be happy， how to be good， how to be loved， and how to live in a world of change and loss。 But perhaps we can learn more from cats--the animal that has most captured our imagination--than from the great thinkers of the world。
In Feline Philosophy， the philosopher John Gray discovers in cats a way of living that is unburdened by anxiety and self-consciousness， showing how they embody answers to the big questions of love and attachment， mortality， morality， and the Self: Montaigne's house cat， whose un-examined life may have been the one worth living; Meo， the Vietnam War survivor with an unshakable capacity for fearless joy; and Colette's Saha， the feline heroine of her subversive short story The Cat， a parable about the pitfalls of human jealousy。
Exploring the nature of cats， and what we can learn from it， Gray offers a profound， thought-provoking meditation on the follies of human exceptionalism and our fundamentally vulnerable and lonely condition。 He charts a path toward a life without illusions and delusions， revealing how we can endure both crisis and transformation， and adapt to a changed scene， as cats have always done。
The history of philosophy has been a predictably tragic or comical succession of palliatives for human disquiet。 Thinkers from Spinoza to Berdyaev have pursued the perennial questions of how to be happy， how to be good， how to be loved， and how to live in a world of change and loss。 But perhaps we can learn more from cats--the animal that has most captured our imagination--than from the great thinkers of the world。
In Feline Philosophy， the philosopher John Gray discovers in cats a way of living that is unburdened by anxiety and self-consciousness， showing how they embody answers to the big questions of love and attachment， mortality， morality， and the Self: Montaigne's house cat， whose un-examined life may have been the one worth living; Meo， the Vietnam War survivor with an unshakable capacity for fearless joy; and Colette's Saha， the feline heroine of her subversive short story The Cat， a parable about the pitfalls of human jealousy。
Exploring the nature of cats， and what we can learn from it， Gray offers a profound， thought-provoking meditation on the follies of human exceptionalism and our fundamentally vulnerable and lonely condition。 He charts a path toward a life without illusions and delusions， revealing how we can endure both crisis and transformation， and adapt to a changed scene， as cats have always done。
Reviews
Fornia
，
hehe cat hehe
Brian Mikołajczyk
，
A philosophy of how cats are true to their nature and what we can learn from their stoic behavior。John Gray takes examples from history about how cats have influence human philsophy。A fun read！
Alexa
，
just be a cat
Kiwi Begs2Differ ✎
，
2。5 starsFav Quotes:Cats do not need to examine their lives， because they do not doubt that life is worth living。Cats have no need of philosophy。 Obeying their nature， they are content with the life it gives them。 In humans， on the other hand， discontent with their nature seems to be natural。 With predictably tragic and farcical results， the human animal never ceases striving to be something that it is not。 Cats make no such effort。 Much of human life is a struggle for happiness。 Among cats， on 2。5 starsFav Quotes:Cats do not need to examine their lives， because they do not doubt that life is worth living。Cats have no need of philosophy。 Obeying their nature， they are content with the life it gives them。 In humans， on the other hand， discontent with their nature seems to be natural。 With predictably tragic and farcical results， the human animal never ceases striving to be something that it is not。 Cats make no such effort。 Much of human life is a struggle for happiness。 Among cats， on the other hand， happiness is the state to which they default when practical threats to their well-being are removed。 That may be the chief reason many of us love cats。 They possess as their birthright a felicity humans regularly fail to attain。Whereas happiness in humans is an artificial state， for cats it is their natural condition。 Unless they are confined within environments that are unnatural for them， cats are never bored。 Boredom is fear of being alone with yourself。 Cats are happy being themselves， while humans try to be happy by escaping themselves。while cats have nothing to learn from us， we can learn from them how to lighten the load that comes with being human。 One burden we can give up is the idea that there could be a perfect life。 It is not that our lives are inevitably imperfect。 They are richer than any idea of perfection。 The good life is not a life you might have led or may yet lead， but the life you already have。 Here， cats can be our teachers。Trying to persuade human beings to be rational is like trying to teach cats to be vegans。Human beings use reason to bolster whatever they want to believe， seldom to find out if what they believe is true。 This may be unfortunate， but there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it。 If human unreason frustrates or endangers you， walk away。 You will not find happiness by chasing after it， since you do not know what will make you happy。 Instead， do what you find most interesting and you will be happy knowing nothing of happiness。 。。。more
Bhavya
，
"Humans do not rank above other animals， or below them。 There is no cosmic scale of value， no great chain of being; no external standard by which the worth of a life can be judged。 Humans are humans， cats are cats。 The difference is that， while cats have nothing to learn from us， we can learn from them how to lighten the load that comes with being human。" "Humans do not rank above other animals， or below them。 There is no cosmic scale of value， no great chain of being; no external standard by which the worth of a life can be judged。 Humans are humans， cats are cats。 The difference is that， while cats have nothing to learn from us， we can learn from them how to lighten the load that comes with being human。" 。。。more
Rashid Malik
，
Piece of cat shit （did a cat poop in author's mind or did he get taken over by cat parasites）！Cats are like this， they think this but not that， they behave like this which means that， they。。。。they。。。they。 Idiot， lost his marbles there。Minus the cat shit， the rest of the book is readable。 Piece of cat shit （did a cat poop in author's mind or did he get taken over by cat parasites）！Cats are like this， they think this but not that， they behave like this which means that， they。。。。they。。。they。 Idiot， lost his marbles there。Minus the cat shit， the rest of the book is readable。 。。。more
Purya Rabet
，
Many opinionated and unphilosophical reviews here。 Pay no heed， read。
James Biser
，
The bottom line is that cats are smart because they do not care。 The author compares a number of human philosophies with the point of view of a cat， and then comes to the conclusion that cats could not so much as have a philosophy because they just live in a way that is perfectly content。
Kathi Jones
，
Not what I thought。 Little about cats and more about the author’s philosophy of life。 Interesting but not what I was hoping for。
Moonkiszt
，
This quick read was dry and not very catty。 Mostly philosophical projections on cat bodies。 I've had many cats throughout my life， and maybe I just got the goofy ones， including a few polydactyls。 Mine were not nearly as sarcastic， ironic and indifferent as the ones in this book。 Mine nagged， followed me， sat in the middle of every project I wanted clear space on， including computer keyboards， threw up and fell on their sides wanting immediate care， yeah。 。 。not a not needy bunch。 。 。 。Anyway。 I This quick read was dry and not very catty。 Mostly philosophical projections on cat bodies。 I've had many cats throughout my life， and maybe I just got the goofy ones， including a few polydactyls。 Mine were not nearly as sarcastic， ironic and indifferent as the ones in this book。 Mine nagged， followed me， sat in the middle of every project I wanted clear space on， including computer keyboards， threw up and fell on their sides wanting immediate care， yeah。 。 。not a not needy bunch。 。 。 。Anyway。 If you are into philosophy and philosophers， and have named your cat after one， this will be a moister read for you than it was for me。Onward and upward。 。。。more
Nancy
，
The cover illustration is brilliant。And the first chapter was promising， although already I felt myself impatient with the clumsy prose and what felt like a brushed-up bits of wikipedia。 Still， I enjoyed the review of human interaction with cats and their non-domestication。Alas， the second chapter's breezy attempt to summarize human suffering and the history of philosophy made me think this book was some sort of contractual agreement。 "Make a book about philosophy and keep mentioning cats。" The cover illustration is brilliant。And the first chapter was promising， although already I felt myself impatient with the clumsy prose and what felt like a brushed-up bits of wikipedia。 Still， I enjoyed the review of human interaction with cats and their non-domestication。Alas， the second chapter's breezy attempt to summarize human suffering and the history of philosophy made me think this book was some sort of contractual agreement。 "Make a book about philosophy and keep mentioning cats。" 。。。more
Ljuba Radakovic
，
This book contains an exciting comparison between human philosophy and feline life。 It states differences between our major philosophical questions and how cats perceive it。I especially loved the ending， where the author presets us with an excellent summary of what humans should acquire from cats' lives。 This book contains an exciting comparison between human philosophy and feline life。 It states differences between our major philosophical questions and how cats perceive it。I especially loved the ending， where the author presets us with an excellent summary of what humans should acquire from cats' lives。 。。。more
Alex
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I found myself disagreeing with a lot in this book。 Mainly the authors idea he knows what cats want。 Some of the philosophy was interesting， as where some of the tales of the cats。But ultimately he argues that humans are incapable of achieving the happiness that cats can。。。
Navid Hasan
，
Questioning/ defying conventional philosophies， religions， beliefs this is a different approach to look at the world and life。 Quite insightful and interesting。 A 4。5
Natalia Stoisin
，
"Los humanos son humanos;los gatos son gatos。La diferencia es que，si bien los gatos no tienen nada que aprender de nosotros，nosotros sí podemos aprender de ellos cómo aligerar la carga intrínseca de ser humanos"。Filosofía y gatos，una extraña combinación¿o no？Quitando la parte de las cosas horribles que les hacían los"humanos"a los gatos，es un libro interesante，a veces divertido，que te hace pensar y por lo tanto，me ha gustado mucho。 "Los humanos son humanos;los gatos son gatos。La diferencia es que，si bien los gatos no tienen nada que aprender de nosotros，nosotros sí podemos aprender de ellos cómo aligerar la carga intrínseca de ser humanos"。Filosofía y gatos，una extraña combinación¿o no？Quitando la parte de las cosas horribles que les hacían los"humanos"a los gatos，es un libro interesante，a veces divertido，que te hace pensar y por lo tanto，me ha gustado mucho。 。。。more
Aliquid A
，
Too much about human philosophers， not enough about cats。 Not that I expected this to be 100% cat talk， but。。。 I would say that this was 90% talking about human philosophers， and then 10% talking about how this might relate to cats， rather than digging into the cat psyche。
Sowmya
，
It was an interesting read
John Francy
，
Some interesting tidbits but a little disjointed in my opinion。 Worth the read though。
Jose
，
Que John Gray haya publicado un libro sobre filosofía felina podría considerarse una irreverencia ante el pensamiento filosófico。 Una irreverencia que cobra todo el sentido si conocemos de antemano parte de la obra de este filósofo británico。 En mi caso， me topé hace un tiempo con su libro Siete tipos de ateísmo， un repaso lúcido a las diferentes formas de ateísmo que se han predicado hasta ahora。 En este libro， el autor muestra cómo muchas formas de ateísmo esconden formas de fe inherentes: en Que John Gray haya publicado un libro sobre filosofía felina podría considerarse una irreverencia ante el pensamiento filosófico。 Una irreverencia que cobra todo el sentido si conocemos de antemano parte de la obra de este filósofo británico。 En mi caso， me topé hace un tiempo con su libro Siete tipos de ateísmo， un repaso lúcido a las diferentes formas de ateísmo que se han predicado hasta ahora。 En este libro， el autor muestra cómo muchas formas de ateísmo esconden formas de fe inherentes: en el progreso， en la humanidad， en la ideología política， etc。Según John Gray， solo el ateísmo descreído estaría libre de cualquier forma de fe， en tanto no postula la afirmación de una nueva fe que niegue la anterior。 Es simple y puramente negación de toda fe， de toda aspiracionalidad。Y es precisamente desde esa posición descreída donde John Gray parece plantear sus ideas。 Unas ideas a las que， por otra parte， procura restar trascendencia， precisamente porque darles más importancia de la que tienen estaría en contraposición directa con su postura。Los gatos y la autoconcienciaEl libro de John Gray Filosofía Felina: los gatos y el sentido de la vida pretende mostrarnos qué pueden enseñarnos los mininos sobre el sentido de las cosas。 Una búsqueda de sentido que en realidad se torna imposible en los felinos en la medida en que no poseen conciencia de sí mismos como sí les sucede a los seres humanos。 Precisamente de esa ausencia de conciencia es una de las cosas que según John Gray podemos aprender algo。 Un gato se realiza a través del acto en sí mismo y nada más。 Su comportamiento no actúa conforme a una escala de valores， sino que se construye sobre las necesidades que pueda tener en cada momento: necesidad de jugar， de comer， de dormir， de obtener algo de calor humano…Para el autor， esa ausencia de conciencia no es ausencia de sintiencia。 El gato pasa hambre， sufre a veces， se divierte y hasta se alegra de toparse con un ser humano。 Lo que lo diferencia es que es todo él un acto presente。 Lo que haga， lo ejecutará sin pararse a pensar en lo bien o mal que esté obrando。 Sus acciones son un acto puro de deseo。Los humanos tenemos grandes dificultades para manifestarnos en el acto presente: nos obsesiona el futuro a la vez que la mochila de nuestro pasado se llena hasta desbordarnos。 Pasamos más tiempo pensando en nuestra siguiente acción en lugar de vivir la experiencia presente que ejecutamos。 Comemos el segundo plato pensando en lo que hay de postre。Si un gato pudiera dar algún tipo de lección al respecto， nos diría que entre la nostalgia pasada y la angustia futura se pierde el goce del momento presente。El relato intrascendente de lo humanoYa he anticipado la posición descreída de John Gray。 Esta posición es especialmente crítica con los postulados humanistas y con la idea de progreso， pero toda ella se remite a un único origen: el valor trascendental que le ha dado el ser humano a la conciencia de sí mismo。 Según Gray， esa trascendentalidad atribuida a la conciencia humana es la que da lugar a una concepción errónea tanto de lo que somos como de nuestra posición en el mundo。 El ser humano， en la medida en la que es consciente de sí mismo y de su mortalidad， bosqueja constructos de ideas que cree que pueden trascender al propio ser humano。 En este sentido， la supuesta trascendencia de las ideas sobre la vida finita del hombre le sirve para darle un valor a la vida。 Sin embargo， esa trascendentalidad de la conciencia no encuentra soporte alguno que invite a pensar que pueda ser atributo alguno de verdad。 Los relatos y ensoñaciones idealistas no dejan de ser constructos imperfectos e incapaces de no cargarse de sesgos y contradicciones propias de la condición humana。 Para Gray la propia filosofía que emerge desde nuestra autoconciencia parece entreverse más bien como un instrumento de entretenimiento similar al que puede tener un gato que se divierte cazando moscas。 No hay verdad alguna en lo que se postula para dar un sentido a las cosas， solo acción en sí。 Para Gray:“la vida interior de los humanos es episódica， borrosa， deshilvanada y， por momentos， caótica”。¿Existe una ética gatuna？Tal y como afirma el propio Gray， tendemos a pensar que “los gatos son amorales”。 No parecemos vislumbrar en ellos sentimiento alguno de culpabilidad o arrepentimiento por sus actos， ni parecen tener dudas sobre el modo más correcto de actuar。 Cuando deciden si tirar o no al suelo ese tentador vaso de cristal que hay en la mesa， su ejecución final no se basa en si están haciendo o no lo correcto sino en si vale la pena realizar la acción deseada ante las posibles represalias que pueda recibir （en este caso， la bronca que se lleva del ser humano）。En este sentido， no existe una moral felina que dirima más allá del bien y del mal， pero para el autor eso no hace que las acciones del gato estén menos justificadas。 Como hemos mencionado previamente， igual que las ideas caen en la trampa de la trascendentalidad de nuestra conciencia， la moral， con sus nociones de lo bueno y lo malo， entra también en ese mismo saco。 En tal caso， si tuviera que haber algo así como una moral del felino， esta sería cercana a la moral que busca acercarse a la virtud， pues esta es la que le garantiza en cada momento su supervivencia。 El gato decidirá virtuosamente tirar el vaso de cristal al suelo porque la consecuencia inmediata difícilmente pondrá en riesgo su vida。 La reprimenda no eliminará en exceso el placer que le habrá supuesto el acto de tirar el vaso。¿Nos puede enseñar a amar un gato？Gray dedica el cuarto capítulo al amor felino。 En concreto， revisa a través de pasajes de diferentes autores la relación de amor humano hacia los gatos， con historias en las que los dueños de los felinos encontraban en ellos una relación de amor siempre más pura que la que hubieran podido encontrarse con cualquier persona。A veces surge la pregunta sobre si puede llegarse a querer más a un animal que a una persona， y a cuáles son los motivos por los que eso puede llegar a suceder。 Esa pregunta puede responderse desde la diferencia en la forma de amar。 Así， mientras el humano que ama guarda siempre la expectativa de ser amado， no sucede así con los gatos， que parecen expresar su sentir sin esperar nada a cambio。 Esa ausencia de expectativa sobre la reciprocidad amorosa se da también en sus propios actos: dado que solo da muestras de cariño cuando así lo siente， dejará de darlas cuando no desee hacerlo。 En este sentido， no es un amor complaciente ni sacrificado pero sí un amor plenamente sincero。En esa paradoja es donde el ser humano se siente atraído por esa forma de querer que tienen los gatos y que normalmente no tienen los humanos。 。。。more
Therese
，
Enjoyable read。 Be a cat and enjoy life for life's sake。 Enjoyable read。 Be a cat and enjoy life for life's sake。 。。。more
Lily
，
It was hard to get through all of it。 It had some good comparisons of felines and the meaning of life， but tended to get repetitive。 I skimmed the last half of the book。
Kevin McAllion
，
Interesting philosophical examination of cats and how humans could lead happier lives by following in their feline footsteps。 Gray's argument is ultimately that humans can't be happy because they always look for meaning in an existence that is ultimately meaningless。 Cats don't suffer from the same problem， living in the moment and enjoying the life they have been given。 At 125 pages， it's a book you will fly through quite quickly and the best part comes at the end when Gray gives his 10 top tip Interesting philosophical examination of cats and how humans could lead happier lives by following in their feline footsteps。 Gray's argument is ultimately that humans can't be happy because they always look for meaning in an existence that is ultimately meaningless。 Cats don't suffer from the same problem， living in the moment and enjoying the life they have been given。 At 125 pages， it's a book you will fly through quite quickly and the best part comes at the end when Gray gives his 10 top tips we can learn from the moggies 。。。more
flo
，
wtf I love this book。 it incorporates my favourite things: cats， of course， and existential crises about death。 first off， I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style， the easy flow of the wording and the relations of each topic and philosopher。 it tackles first the issue of humans， as delayed through many philosophers’ insights throughout history of different schools， and then how this relates to the cat。 as a cat owner who read this entire book with her cat curled up， sleeping， on the bed beside he wtf I love this book。 it incorporates my favourite things: cats， of course， and existential crises about death。 first off， I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style， the easy flow of the wording and the relations of each topic and philosopher。 it tackles first the issue of humans， as delayed through many philosophers’ insights throughout history of different schools， and then how this relates to the cat。 as a cat owner who read this entire book with her cat curled up， sleeping， on the bed beside her， having to pause every few pages to stroke him: this was perfection。 now all I want is to read more about philosophy and more about cats。 the wide range of both philosophy schools and philosophers also helped to emphasise the broadness of humans’ ideology and how freaking amazing cats are。 I definitely want to read some of the fiction books mentioned。 honestly， I can’t phrase anything right， but， to reiterate my opening line， I really do love this book。 。。。more
Jan Sumerakin
，
The book pushes you to think on existential aspects of humans。 Gray also explains what humans can learn from cats behaviour in life。 Too many quotes from other philosophers。
Andrew
，
I picked up this book at the library after seeing it on a New Books shelf。 I love cats， and philosophy is a secondary interest of mine， so I figured， Why not？ This book was breezy but full of meaty philosophy content， and my friend （whom I read it to） thought that it was good。 We both enjoyed the cat stories tremendously， and I for one appreciated the entire chapter on literary references to cats。 I wrote down many of the stories in that chapter to read at a later time。 My friend says that he “e I picked up this book at the library after seeing it on a New Books shelf。 I love cats， and philosophy is a secondary interest of mine， so I figured， Why not？ This book was breezy but full of meaty philosophy content， and my friend （whom I read it to） thought that it was good。 We both enjoyed the cat stories tremendously， and I for one appreciated the entire chapter on literary references to cats。 I wrote down many of the stories in that chapter to read at a later time。 My friend says that he “enjoyed the general commentary on the human condition， and I would say that I found a new way to identify my ease of disillusionment。” 。。。more
Tara Wiebe
，
Unfortunately this was more of an overview of schools of thought in philosophy than I thought it would be。 Interesting， but not a book I'm invested in finishing at the moment。 Unfortunately this was more of an overview of schools of thought in philosophy than I thought it would be。 Interesting， but not a book I'm invested in finishing at the moment。 。。。more
Monica
，
Il filosofo John Gray riassume in un piccolo libro tutta la filosofia dei gatti: attraverso questi splendidi animali possiamo comprendere meglio la nostra esistenza e viverla nel miglior modo possibile。Ci sono tante citazioni di filosofi di oggi e del passato e tante storie di vita con gatti; si conclude che chi vive con un gatto vive sicuramente meglio di chi non ne ha o non ne ha mai posseduto uno。Consigliato a chi pensa che i gatti siano stupidi。
Rich
，
The first half was incredibly dense - lots of philosophy， not too much about cats。 The second half was much better， filled with anecdotes and cats in literature。 Glad I stuck with it。
sassyspines
，
This was a big no for me。 Trigger and Content Warnings: Death， assault， abuse， and torture/abuse and harm of animals （specifically cats）。 Also， some reviews mention incorrect descriptions of several religions。
Fifi
，