Beyond Boundaries steps out into hitherto unknown territory in taking an interdisciplinary approach to the subject of animals: the author criticizes the biological determinism characteristic of many biologists as well as the anthropocentrism of many environmentalists and 'greens' who fail to see domestic animals or even humans as part of 'nature.' Vast in its scope and vision, this book synthesizes an array of disparate research and scholarship and in doing so exposes the tensions and inconsistencies in the view of animals in different areas of Western thought. A project of such breadth is unprecedented and there is no existing conceptual structure for a work of this kind: it is certain to spark a furore of philosophical debate.