Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life
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- Create Date：2021-05-07 12:52:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：John N. Gray
- ISBN：0374154112
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Summary
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。
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
Maksim Karpitski
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 There's a reason this review of a seemingly non-narrative book comes with a spoiler alert。 Gray's book might not break new ground for anyone who's even just a bit more than a casual reader of philosophy， but it's nothing if not cleverly written。It starts off with a very basic premise: humans life is miserable and human consciousness might be an evolutionary dead end， but cats are great。 One hardly needs to be a well-established philosopher to think this and any cat lover could probably say as mu There's a reason this review of a seemingly non-narrative book comes with a spoiler alert。 Gray's book might not break new ground for anyone who's even just a bit more than a casual reader of philosophy， but it's nothing if not cleverly written。It starts off with a very basic premise: humans life is miserable and human consciousness might be an evolutionary dead end， but cats are great。 One hardly needs to be a well-established philosopher to think this and any cat lover could probably say as much。 What next？ Shall we just lie down and die？ After all， we obviously can't just get rid of our own consciousness。I should've guessed where this was going， though。 It's basically meant as an attack on predominant Western modes of thinking: "According to Aristotle， the best sort of human being was one like himself — male， slave-owning and Greek — who was devoted to intellectual inquiry。" Similarly， putting too much emphasis on consciousness in humans or God leads to frustration and neglecting other forms of life。 Taoism and Spinoza's thought are presented as alternatives。There's a lot more to come， with dead philosophers to quote， cat-themed pop-culture and "serious" literature to ruminate on， and plenty of twists along the way。 。。。more
Oliver
，
A short but insightful overview of arch-contrarian John Gray's views on the perils of philosophy neatly （if a little disingenuously） packaged as a book about cats。 The thesis of the book is probably best summed up in this notably cat-free paragraph: "More sceptical than the most radical Pyrrhonist， Montaigne did not believe any philosophizing could cure human disquiet。 Philosophy was useful chiefly in curing people of philosophy。 Like Ludwig Wittgenstein （1889-1951）， he recognized that ordinary A short but insightful overview of arch-contrarian John Gray's views on the perils of philosophy neatly （if a little disingenuously） packaged as a book about cats。 The thesis of the book is probably best summed up in this notably cat-free paragraph: "More sceptical than the most radical Pyrrhonist， Montaigne did not believe any philosophizing could cure human disquiet。 Philosophy was useful chiefly in curing people of philosophy。 Like Ludwig Wittgenstein （1889-1951）， he recognized that ordinary language is littered with residues of past metaphysical systems。 By uncovering these traces and recognizing that the realities they describes are actually fictions， we could think more flexibly。 Small doses of such a homeopathic remedy against philosophy - an anti-philosophy- one might say - might bring us closer to other animals。 Then we might be able to learn something from creatures that philosophers have dismissed as our inferiors。 "This resonated deeply with the conclusion I came to from three years of undergraduate study of philosophy: philosophy is， for the most part， a series of narratives that humans have created in a doomed effort to provide some kind of rationalised structure to a fundamentally irrational existence。 But awareness of these narratives at least allows us to recognise that other forms of being are perhaps just as rich and significantly more joyful than that of the philosopher。 In the most engaging parts of the book， Gray argues that domestic cats， with their quasi-epicurian lifestyle of lazy and non-intellectual contentment， are a particularly compelling case study of what is possible for a life form unencumbered with existential anxiety。 But cats are too far from humans to really be our role models。 Any civilisation built around a cat philosophy would instantly collapse。 Although， perhaps that is what Gray thinks would actually be the best outcome for humanity。 。。。more
Lisa
，
As a disclaimer， I am trained as a scientist; I am more interested in the objectivity of experiments than into philosophy which seems too much a fluid interpretation of observation。 But I’m always interested in trying to understand philosophy。 Plus I love my cats so I thought this would be a good way to get into philosophy。 In fact， it’s just a primer on philosophy 101 with a forced application to the author’s opinion of feline behavior。 His opinions and observations of feline behavior don’t alw As a disclaimer， I am trained as a scientist; I am more interested in the objectivity of experiments than into philosophy which seems too much a fluid interpretation of observation。 But I’m always interested in trying to understand philosophy。 Plus I love my cats so I thought this would be a good way to get into philosophy。 In fact， it’s just a primer on philosophy 101 with a forced application to the author’s opinion of feline behavior。 His opinions and observations of feline behavior don’t always agree with my own but that’s ok。 Mostly the application to cats seems forced and marginal。 。。。more
Reesha
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Eh。 It's okay。 It's not great。 It's quite short。 It doesn't talk enough about cats。A very large chunk of this very small book is dedicated to the philosophies of humans。 I mean that at a point， cats are barely mentioned for pages and pages on end， to the extent that I began to feel I'd been tricked into buying an "introduction to human philosophy" book。The cats came back into the picture for the last bits of the book， which was a relief， and there are definitely some good stories。 But there's so Eh。 It's okay。 It's not great。 It's quite short。 It doesn't talk enough about cats。A very large chunk of this very small book is dedicated to the philosophies of humans。 I mean that at a point， cats are barely mentioned for pages and pages on end， to the extent that I began to feel I'd been tricked into buying an "introduction to human philosophy" book。The cats came back into the picture for the last bits of the book， which was a relief， and there are definitely some good stories。 But there's so much in it that isn't about cats or the way they live that I couldn't recommend this book to anyone for what it's meant to be。That said， it's a very very fast read and there's nothing complex in here to trip anyone up。 There are also some poignant cat stories and some truly disgusting historical cat facts I'd rather not encounter again。I doubt I'll ever read it again and should have borrowed it instead of buying it。 。。。more
Grace Applegate
，
I didn't fully understand the parts of this book that went into schools of thought， philosophers， and studies but I LOVED the stories of the cats。 My grade school longing to have a cat has been reignited。 I liked this book because it shattered many parts of my worldview， and I didn't feel attacked because of it。 Finishing this gave me the overwhelming feeling of "there are so many ideas about the world I don't know and that's really exciting。" I didn't fully understand the parts of this book that went into schools of thought， philosophers， and studies but I LOVED the stories of the cats。 My grade school longing to have a cat has been reignited。 I liked this book because it shattered many parts of my worldview， and I didn't feel attacked because of it。 Finishing this gave me the overwhelming feeling of "there are so many ideas about the world I don't know and that's really exciting。" 。。。more
Daria
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I will just repeat here the review I gave to my boyfriend， who gifted this book to me:"I loved all of the stories about cats"。 I will just repeat here the review I gave to my boyfriend， who gifted this book to me:"I loved all of the stories about cats"。 。。。more
Nathalie
，
A fellow library worker in charge of the philosophy section handed me this book to read because of my love of cats （I don't normally frequent that category。） I loved parts of this book and recoiled in horror at the retelling of the horrible， cruel ways cats （dogs） were subjected to by some well known philosopher to justify his horrible， cruel and false deductions on the souls of cats。 Disgusting！ I fast forwarded my libby in horror。 Cats are much more "humane" than some humans。 On the positive s A fellow library worker in charge of the philosophy section handed me this book to read because of my love of cats （I don't normally frequent that category。） I loved parts of this book and recoiled in horror at the retelling of the horrible， cruel ways cats （dogs） were subjected to by some well known philosopher to justify his horrible， cruel and false deductions on the souls of cats。 Disgusting！ I fast forwarded my libby in horror。 Cats are much more "humane" than some humans。 On the positive side， we have much to learn from cats （dogs and others） in how to live in the moment， and to let go of the luggage that is pulling us down。 Indeed， animals have souls and are capable of love and feelings。 They more "human" than we are at times and to call a terrible person "an animal" is an injustice to our fur friends。 。。。more
Lindsay Martinez
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Wow， a quick book with cat in the title and a cat on the cover！ A sure winner for myself and， because of the cats， Sbax！ The book started out so strong， with the word ‘cat’ appearing in nearly every sentence for the first chapters。 Doesn’t get better than that。 We’re talking chapters with titles like “cats as gods，” “cat nature，” “how cats domesticated humans，” and “ten feline hints on how to live well。” In the book， the author talks about different cat behaviors and how they compare to people a Wow， a quick book with cat in the title and a cat on the cover！ A sure winner for myself and， because of the cats， Sbax！ The book started out so strong， with the word ‘cat’ appearing in nearly every sentence for the first chapters。 Doesn’t get better than that。 We’re talking chapters with titles like “cats as gods，” “cat nature，” “how cats domesticated humans，” and “ten feline hints on how to live well。” In the book， the author talks about different cat behaviors and how they compare to people and their philosophies。 Several wonderful cat stories are told， and he also summarizes several literary pieces about cats （though dude， major spoilers and I could have just read those！）。There is much to love in thinking about how chill cats are。 As the author himself writes， “cats thrive without anxiously inquiring how to live” and， later， “cats have no need of philosophy。” Neither do I！ Sadly though， half of this book is a review of philosophy things， complete with block quotes from philosophy texts。 Skip！ Skim！ No thanks！ I don’t think I really care about how thinker dudes from hundreds of years ago say I should live。 Philosophy is not for me I guess。 Though I did like this quote the author came up with （with inspiration from cats）: “do not fear the dark， for much that is precious is found in the night。”5/5 stars for the parts about cats and 1/5 stars for the parts about philosophy that I hardly even read。 So I give it a 3/5！！ You all could probably finish this one is like 1 hour。 。。。more
Jacqueline
，
“All these philosophies （Stoicism， Epicureanism， Pyrrhonism） have a common failing。They imagine life can be ordered by human reason。Either the Mind can devise a way of life that is secure from loss， or else it can control the emotions so that it can withstand any loss。In fact， neither how we live nor the emotions we feel can be controlled in this way。Our lives are shaped by chance and our emotions by the body。 Much of human life - and much of philosophy - is an attempt to divert ourselves from t “All these philosophies （Stoicism， Epicureanism， Pyrrhonism） have a common failing。They imagine life can be ordered by human reason。Either the Mind can devise a way of life that is secure from loss， or else it can control the emotions so that it can withstand any loss。In fact， neither how we live nor the emotions we feel can be controlled in this way。Our lives are shaped by chance and our emotions by the body。 Much of human life - and much of philosophy - is an attempt to divert ourselves from this fact。” 。。。more
Giovanna Walker
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I'm not a philosophy major， but come from this as a cat lover。 Some parts are a bit too 'esoteric' for my liking。 Others interesting， it's short， but hey， could have been shorter - not much about cats， some is pretty cruel （how cats were tortured by humans）， and if you want a good summary it's at the back of the book。 Some fun insights， 'beware of anyone who offers to make you happy'。。。。just not my cup of tea。。。。but well researched， and it's me， not you Mr Gray！ I'm not a philosophy major， but come from this as a cat lover。 Some parts are a bit too 'esoteric' for my liking。 Others interesting， it's short， but hey， could have been shorter - not much about cats， some is pretty cruel （how cats were tortured by humans）， and if you want a good summary it's at the back of the book。 Some fun insights， 'beware of anyone who offers to make you happy'。。。。just not my cup of tea。。。。but well researched， and it's me， not you Mr Gray！ 。。。more
Christine Delea
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A great introduction to some canonical philosophies and thinking; not a great introduction to cats （some of the information is very much based on old stereotypes of cats）。 But a quick read and some fun information on "great thoughts。" A great introduction to some canonical philosophies and thinking; not a great introduction to cats （some of the information is very much based on old stereotypes of cats）。 But a quick read and some fun information on "great thoughts。" 。。。more
Corinne Romitti
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Too much philosophy and not enough cats。
Guilherme Alves
，
abrace seu gato não porque ele te ama， mas porque você ama ele
Ed Stoddard
，
This entrancing book is a pur-fect read on a late summer's day。 "Cats have no need of philosophy，" Gray writes。 "Obeying their nature， they are content with the life it gives them。" He goes onto write that: "The source of philosophy is anxiety， and cats do not suffer from anxiety unless they are threatened or find themselves in a strange place。" Gray is a well-known and highly-regarded philosopher， and so has plenty of street cred on the issue。 Still， this reviewer holds the view that one of the This entrancing book is a pur-fect read on a late summer's day。 "Cats have no need of philosophy，" Gray writes。 "Obeying their nature， they are content with the life it gives them。" He goes onto write that: "The source of philosophy is anxiety， and cats do not suffer from anxiety unless they are threatened or find themselves in a strange place。" Gray is a well-known and highly-regarded philosopher， and so has plenty of street cred on the issue。 Still， this reviewer holds the view that one of the sources of philosophy is surely curiosity， which in a popular saying "killed the cat。" But Gray has got me thinking that perhaps curiosity may also give rise to human anxiety， and so may in fact be killing us， and not the indifferent cat。 Some of the ground he covers is not completely original。 Gray asserts that: "At no point were cats domesticated by humans"， but rather they learned to live with humans to their advantage。 This brought to this reviewer's mind Stephen Budiansky's thought-provoking 1994 book "The Covenant of the Wild: Why Animals Chose Domestication。" But overall this is an original， elegant and crisp look at how humans regard cats and what we might learn from the species and its independent ways。 The writers and artists and their cats portrayed here are almost all western or Russian， which is not a catty "woke" comment - it is simply an observation that an obsession with pets is in many ways （though not exclusively） a Western obsession， a topic that is of interest to this reviewer。 。。。more
Edward Sullivan
，
As of it were not already obvious， especially to those with feline companions， cats are superior to humans in every way。
Cynthia ❥
，
3。5 ☆☆☆
Jarrah
，
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。 Philosopher John Gray has put together a short and accessible book about cats and philosophy that is nevertheless much more than a novelty read。 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。 Philosopher John Gray has put together a short and accessible book about cats and philosophy that is nevertheless much more than a novelty read。 Thoughtful and full of profound insights from many different philosophical schools， as well as interesting historical tidbits， Feline Philosophy is an enlightening read for cat lovers。 Content note: Gray doesn't shy away from the dark and historical accounts of abuse of cats might be hard for some readers to take （seriously， F**k Descartes）。 。。。more
Lucy
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This might seem like a bit of a “silly” theme for a book （and perhaps it is）， but I actually found it a really interesting way to think about how humans have related to cats， through the lens of existential philosophy and angsty literature from the 16th to 19th century （predominantly - he also dips back much further at some points）。 It’s written with such gentle affection and humour that I found myself able to read and think about mortality and purpose （or lack thereof） in life without being fil This might seem like a bit of a “silly” theme for a book （and perhaps it is）， but I actually found it a really interesting way to think about how humans have related to cats， through the lens of existential philosophy and angsty literature from the 16th to 19th century （predominantly - he also dips back much further at some points）。 It’s written with such gentle affection and humour that I found myself able to read and think about mortality and purpose （or lack thereof） in life without being filled with fear and dread。 And also descriptions of cats being adorable， fascinating， and bizarre。 What’s not to love？ 。。。more
Ann Repetto
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It's just over 100 pages but still longer than it needed to be。 A few core ideas。 Kind of interesting。 It's just over 100 pages but still longer than it needed to be。 A few core ideas。 Kind of interesting。 。。。more
Hemen Kalita
，
Feline philosophy doesn't encourage humans to seek wisdom nor persuade them to imbibe altruism or any other objective morality。 Like a cat， One should take pleasure in life per se and be indifferent to others。 If one doesn't find joy in living， then fulfillment should be found in diversion， or self-deception， such as religion or other rituals。 But to seek happiness or contentment through philosophy or reasoning is futile。 Philosophy is borne out of our existential anxiety and it is actually a sy Feline philosophy doesn't encourage humans to seek wisdom nor persuade them to imbibe altruism or any other objective morality。 Like a cat， One should take pleasure in life per se and be indifferent to others。 If one doesn't find joy in living， then fulfillment should be found in diversion， or self-deception， such as religion or other rituals。 But to seek happiness or contentment through philosophy or reasoning is futile。 Philosophy is borne out of our existential anxiety and it is actually a symptom of the disorder it pretends to remedy。 。。。more
Jacob Lynch
，
Anyone who has read John Gray and listened to any of his talks will find much discussed in this book familiar。 The chapters in this book offer a quick overview of human philosophy and the human condition juxtapoised with the lives and attitudes of felines。 So far my favorite book of this year， and I only wish it was longer。
Steve
，
"If cats could understand the human search for meaning， they would purr with delight at its absurdity。" "If cats could understand the human search for meaning， they would purr with delight at its absurdity。" 。。。more
Jared
，
Cats！
Joao Camargo
，
I love John Gray's books because they all short， easy to read， say basically the same thing， but do it always with a different perspective and background。 It reminds me of valuable lessons I can easily forget。 I love John Gray's books because they all short， easy to read， say basically the same thing， but do it always with a different perspective and background。 It reminds me of valuable lessons I can easily forget。 。。。more
Nick Forbes
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Intriguing
Connor Lynch
，
I really love the approach of this book， and I'm quite likely to read it again， but as a philosophical work its brevity is a bit of a double edged sword。 The two thrusts of the book being "organisms are bound to their biological heritage， and that includes humans" and "just live more like a cat bro" don't seem compatible in any way。 I'll have to read it again sometime for a fuller review。 I really love the approach of this book， and I'm quite likely to read it again， but as a philosophical work its brevity is a bit of a double edged sword。 The two thrusts of the book being "organisms are bound to their biological heritage， and that includes humans" and "just live more like a cat bro" don't seem compatible in any way。 I'll have to read it again sometime for a fuller review。 。。。more
Leslie
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The first half seemed wayward veering into philosophical doctrine that I could not find relevant to cats。 The second half was far more enjoyable for me。 I think it's best to just view "cats" as a vehicle and not get caught up with yearning for more of an understanding of our feline families。 In this particular book。 The first half seemed wayward veering into philosophical doctrine that I could not find relevant to cats。 The second half was far more enjoyable for me。 I think it's best to just view "cats" as a vehicle and not get caught up with yearning for more of an understanding of our feline families。 In this particular book。 。。。more
Dylan Hecht
，
Our boy John is stuck in a rut。
Judith Gunn
，
There isn't really a great deal of philosophy about cats， but then they aren't really into that sort of thing。 There is a fun list of feline hints on how to live well: "forget about pursuing happiness and you may find it。" There isn't really a great deal of philosophy about cats， but then they aren't really into that sort of thing。 There is a fun list of feline hints on how to live well: "forget about pursuing happiness and you may find it。" 。。。more
Angie Boyter
，