Tools for thinking about the animal condition under human tutelage.

How, in contemporary Western society, did the idea of human supremacy take root? Is animal welfare the right framework for thinking about the treatment of so-called "production" animals? What role does language play in the way we think about animals? Is their domination by Homo sapiens connected to other forms of domination within our species? These are some of the broad questions explored in this book, which offers a synthesis of knowledge ranging from philosophy to the life sciences and political science.