The Silence of Animals: On Progress and Other Modern Myths

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The Silence of Animals: On Progress and Other Modern Myths is a philosophical work by John Gray that critiques the modern belief in human progress and explores the limits of reason, civilization, and human self-understanding.

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Predicate Object
instanceOf book
non-fiction book
philosophical work
argues civilization does not eliminate human savagery
history has no inherent moral direction
humans are not fundamentally different from other animals in their capacity for illusion
myths of progress replace religious eschatologies in modern societies
author John Gray
authorNationality British
comparesHumansTo animals
continuationOf Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals
surface form: themes from Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
criticizes Enlightenment rationalism
belief in inevitable moral progress
liberal humanism
secular faith in history
genre intellectual history
philosophy
political philosophy
hasPart essays
influencedBy Arthur Schopenhauer
J. G. Ballard
James Lovelock
Joseph Conrad
Sigmund Freud
language English
mainSubject civilization
critique of the idea of progress
human nature
limits of reason
modernity
myth of human self-mastery
pessimism about history
relationship between humans and animals
secular humanism
mediaType print
notableFor critique of secular faith in progress
use of literary and historical examples
philosophicalPosition anti-progressivism
secular pessimism
skepticism about human rationality
publicationYear 2013
publisher Allen Lane
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
relatedWork Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals
structure three-part work
targetAudience readers of philosophy and political theory
timePeriodDiscussed 20th century
21st century
modern era

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John Gray notableWork The Silence of Animals: On Progress and Other Modern Myths