ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book documents the harmful results of astonishingly parallel bias and prejudice directed against the majority of non-human species, primarily because of the way they look. It explores the cruel and compassionate sides of human nature. The book then addresses ‘speciesism,’ a term which summarizes the biases and prejudices that humans manifest toward other species. It also provides quite detailed reviews of physical and behavioral characteristics of animals and plants that are employed as criteria to judge their attractiveness and merit. The book analyses several non-visual determinants of human preferences for and prejudices against species. It then examines the extent of the extinction threat to species, which is widely misconceived by the public as simply a situation requiring selective preservation of charismatic animals such as pandas and whales.
