ABSTRACT
Love of nonhuman animals has become a prominent theme in Western cultures, particularly since the 19th century. Yet, Western societies also kill and consume more animals than perhaps ever in the history of our species. The chapter explores what love towards nonhuman others entails, and what type of love would lead to the soundest moral implications, thus also enabling one to acknowledge the intrinsic value and subjectivity of other animals. The philosophies of Simone Weil and Iris Murdoch will be used as the foundation for this exploration, and it will be suggested that attention (or what here is often termed “attentiveness”) entwines or correlates with morally laden love, capable of manifesting the realities of other animals. Routes towards such “love as metalevel attention” include other-directedness, humility and approaching others as art—all factors arguably lacking in anthropocentric attitudes towards nonhuman creatures.
