Author: Mark Alizart

If you’re a dog lover with a philosophical frame of mind, you’re going to love this blend of theology, history, psychology and pop culture. Acknowledging the centrality of the evolution of the role of the dog to that of humankind, Mark Alizart pays obeisance to the integrity and instinctiveness of the species, while presenting differing conceptualizations of the animal that has served as the fountain spring for an extensive array of work across the arts and across the generations. Translated from the French by Robin MacKay, Dogs: A Philosophical Guide to Our Best Friends has all the fluency and ease of expression that one could possibly wish for in a translation of this nature. Its categorization as a work of anecdote by some is likely to be a tad misleading, as the text is so much more than that.

Alizart’s erudition is overpowering in his simplicity of expression and in the effectiveness and cogency of his ideas. Any educator or facilitator who wishes to encourage lively debate could easily take many a statement from Dogs: A Philosophical Guide to Our Best Friends as a launchpad for argument and discussion. The first sentence alone is sufficient to set the tongues (and tails) wagging: “One day, dogs will rule the earth.” Such (over)generalizations might, in any text other than a philosophical one, be subject to derision by the more skeptical, but suit the present work’s métier perfectly. (And at least one is aware of where the author’s sympathies lie from the start.) The crux of the matter is: read Dogs: A Philosophical Guide to Our Best Friends with an open heart and mind, and you are likely to enjoy the work thoroughly. Take every word literally, and you are likely to flounder.

Dogs: A Philosophical Guide to Our Best Friends is likely to appeal to any who have more than a mere nodding acquaintance with dogs and who are attracted by the mystique of the divine. His writing, which is deeply grounded in an awareness of the significance of myth and mythology to the modern day, counterpoises our everyday mundanities against the deeper realities of life that make our humanity humane and, at its very best, canine in intent, gesture and deed. In short, we would all do well to learn from such a devoted and faithful creature, who many times sets an example for us all to follow. We, the ostensible leaders, should open ourselves to being led by those who are nobler than us in a multiplicity of ways. Dogs: A Philosophical Guide to Our Best Friends shows the way.