Jonathan P. Balcombe Kolejność książek (chronologicznie)

An underwater exploration that overturns myths about fishes and reveals their complex lives, from tool use to social behavior. With over thirty thousand species, fish surpass all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined. Despite their diversity and beauty, we often overlook how fish think, feel, and behave. Ethologist Jonathan Balcombe takes us beneath the sea and beyond the aquarium glass to uncover the capabilities of fish, how they function, and their motivations. He introduces groundbreaking insights in animal behavior and biology, challenging our perceptions of fish as unfeeling creatures. Instead, he portrays them as sentient beings with social structures, engaging in elaborate courtship rituals and forming lifelong bonds with shoal-mates. Fish exhibit complex behaviors such as planning, cooperative hunting, tool use, punishing wrongdoers, and even deception. Their senses are remarkably sophisticated; for instance, the reef-dwelling damselfish recognizes its peers by face patterns visible only in ultraviolet light, while some species communicate using electric signals in murky waters. Through these discoveries and personal encounters, Balcombe encourages a deeper understanding of marine life, promising to transform your view of our aquatic relatives, including your pet goldfish.

The book presents a compelling argument against the notion that animals act solely on instinct, highlighting their capacity for feelings, pain, and emotions. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing animals as sentient beings and calls for a shift in how humans interact with them. Through eloquent prose and scientific insights, it challenges preconceived notions about animal behavior and advocates for a more compassionate approach to our relationship with the animal kingdom.

Pleasurable Kingdom presents new evidence that animals--like humans--enjoy themselves. From birds to baboons, insects to iguanas, animals feel good thanks to play, sex, touch, food, anticipation, comfort, aesthetics, and more. Combining rigorous evidence, elegant argument and amusing anecdotes, leading animal behavior researcher Jonathan Balcombe shows that the possibility of positive feelings in creatures other than humans has important ethical ramifications for both science and society.