How to Talk to a Cat
Buber, Philosophy, and Dialogue with Unspeaking Things
Seiten
2026
Indiana University Press (Verlag)
978-0-253-07577-2 (ISBN)
Indiana University Press (Verlag)
978-0-253-07577-2 (ISBN)
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Guided by the philosophical insights of Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, How to Talk to a Cat explores the possibility of dialogue beyond the boundaries of spoken language. Original and effective in its interdisciplinary scope, this book ventures into the complexities of engaging in meaningful dialogue with creatures that do not use verbal communication, focusing on unspeaking beings we encounter in the domestic sphere: cats, babies, plants, and tools, among others.
Author Dustin N. Atlas distinguishes between talking to entities in a direct, second-person dialogue, talking about them in a third-person analytical mode, and focusing on how the former is possible in the absence of speech. While many discussions of Buber's philosophy have focused on the I-You relationship, How to Talk to a Cat emphasizes the dynamic processes of dialogue that take place over time where attention, rather than presence, is central. Raising questions about the nature of understanding, cohabitation, and the possibility of connection across different beings, Atlas encourages readers to look more closely at their present life, to reconsider the scope of dialogue and extend it beyond the human to include the silent relationships we share with the world around us.
Bringing Jewish thought into conversation with contemporary philosophy, ethology, animal studies, and critical theory, How to Talk to a Cat challenges prevailing assumptions about the limitations of dialogue and expands on the nature of understanding, cohabitation, and the possibility of connection across types of beings.
Author Dustin N. Atlas distinguishes between talking to entities in a direct, second-person dialogue, talking about them in a third-person analytical mode, and focusing on how the former is possible in the absence of speech. While many discussions of Buber's philosophy have focused on the I-You relationship, How to Talk to a Cat emphasizes the dynamic processes of dialogue that take place over time where attention, rather than presence, is central. Raising questions about the nature of understanding, cohabitation, and the possibility of connection across different beings, Atlas encourages readers to look more closely at their present life, to reconsider the scope of dialogue and extend it beyond the human to include the silent relationships we share with the world around us.
Bringing Jewish thought into conversation with contemporary philosophy, ethology, animal studies, and critical theory, How to Talk to a Cat challenges prevailing assumptions about the limitations of dialogue and expands on the nature of understanding, cohabitation, and the possibility of connection across types of beings.
Dustin N. Atlas is Director of Jewish Studies and Associate Professor in the School of Religion at Queen's University. He specializes in contemporary Jewish thought and aesthetics, especially works that concern imperfection, gossip, and non-human creatures.
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Dialogue and the Maintenance of Domestic Bubbles
1. Homes: Domesticity and Conflict
2. Animals, Communication and Language
3. Domestic Cats: Anxiety and Singularity
4. Plants: Dispersion and Surfaces
5. Babies: Noise and the Nursery
6. Sensuality: Tools, Crafts, Decoration
Conclusion: Death and Dialogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 31.3.2026 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | New Jewish Philosophy and Thought |
| Verlagsort | Bloomington, IN |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Philosophie der Neuzeit |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Kommunikation / Medien ► Kommunikationswissenschaft | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-253-07577-7 / 0253075777 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-253-07577-2 / 9780253075772 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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