Na styku animal studies i nauk o wychowaniu

Abstract

The aim of the article is to define a common perspective in the area of animal studies and education sciences. The subject of human relations with other forms of life on our planet is an extremely valuable area for pedagogical reflection, where there is still insufficient content on the substantive and ethical level. This is because the natural world, including animals, is usually presented – within the anthropocentric perspective – as less significant, inferior, irrelevant, and primarily dependent on the meanings given to it by people. The search for a common interface between animal studies and pedagogy aims to emphasise the context of empathy, the category of community, and the issue of mutual interdependence. This crossroads takes the form of a specific ethical proposal, the basis of which is the assumption of the equality of all beings in the perspective of life. The article presents the most important concepts, definitions, solutions, and discussions that create the theoretical framework for both pedagogy and animal studies. In addition, the article shows the possibility of extending these two scientific disciplines to include issues related to posthumanism and interspecies humanitarianism.