ZOOANTHROPOLOGY

The study field of zooanthropology includes several scientific, philosophical and political disciplines. Zooanthropology defines and gives direction within the interpretation of phenomena related to our relationship with other animals, stepping outside the anthropocentric viewpoint. It is not just a matter of study and application, but it gives an ethical direction and inspires a movement for years to come. It refers to the cognitive ethology dimension and does not fall into the dimension of classical ethology or behaviorism.

Zooanthropology recognizes the nonhuman “other” as a subject and, for this, clearly disapproves of the use of coercive instruments, whether physical, emotional or mental, and certainly calls into question all tools, methods and approaches regarding the interpretation and application of operant conditioning. It questions animal training and opens up a new model of interpretation and application in the dynamics of animal learning, recognizing animal subjectivity and alterity (“otherness”).— Francesco De Giorgio and JosŽ De Giorgio-Schoorl