Get the latest tech news

I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

What makes human existence worth the bother? How can we free ourselves of inner conflict and live with joy? In an extract from his new book, philosopher Mark Rowlands seeks canine counsel in answer to these eternal questions

I have just asked Shadow, a German shepherd, a question: “Do you want to come with?” This has caused him to explode into a customary expression of delight: jumping, spinning, then running to fetch his leash. In all of this, there is a lesson, repeated every school day – dog pedagogy involves a lot of repetition – about life’s meaning. In its portrayal of meaninglessness as repetitive activity that aims only at the continuation of itself, the myth of Sisyphus is often taken as an allegory of human life.

Get the Android app