Saturday, September 18, 2010

An interview with Hal Herzog - and a chance to win his book!

Dr. Hal Herzog is a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University and the author of a new book on animals called Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals. This looks like an amazing book about the bizarre patchwork of moral rules that humans have developed about how we interact with animals and what we think of those relationships. It's already garnered rave reviews from Steven Pinker, Temple Grandin and many others.
I'm excited to announce that Dr. Herzog has agreed to do the first-ever THSP author interview. Here's how it will work:

1) Check out the links below and then post a question about Dr. Herzog's book and work in the comments. Be SURE to include your e-mail address! You have until Sunday 9/26 to post a comment.
2) Dr. Herzog will select a few of your questions to answer and will send me his replies for a follow-up post.
3) At the end of that post I'll announce the winner of a free copy of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat. I'll determine that winner by taking the number of comments and selecting one number by using a random number selector online. (Note: if the person with the winning comment doesn't include an e-mail address, I'll randomly select another number.)

 Here are some links with more on Dr. Hal Herzog:
Halherzog.com
The State of Things audio interview (from WUNC in Chapel Hill)
An interview in Salon and a column in the New York Post

Remember, post your questions in the comments below by Sunday 9/26. 
  --posted by Steve
at

3 comments:

  1. Mrs. WelleSeptember 20, 2010 at 2:02 PM

    Dr. Herzog,

    Animal research is something that fascinates and sometimes sparks ire among my students. The title of your book implies that you've got some insight as to why we feel so passionately about the treatment of some animals (e.g. pets), but not others (e.g. cockroaches). What can I tell my students about this seeming inconsistency?

    Mrs. Welle

    wellevk@chipfalls.k12.wi.us

    ReplyDelete
  2. ShanaSeptember 23, 2010 at 4:56 PM

    This topic is great and I can't wait to read the book. I own a ferret and just recently got a puppy. My in-laws love the dog, but try to keep as far away from the ferret as humanly possible. I find myself identifying with the topic, and I wonder to what extent these preferences and aversions are affected by experiences and to what extent they are affected by biological predispositions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 24, 2010 at 6:42 AM

    I have had my cats for about six years. I understand the attachment to them more than other cats, but here is something I do not understand--why do I care about my cats more than other humans?

    ReplyDelete