This volume provides an overview of contemporary Italian philosophy from the perspective of animality. Its rationale rests on two main premises: the great topicality of both Italian contemporary philosophy (the so-called "Italian Theory") and of the animal question (the so-called "animal turn" in the humanities and the social sciences) in the contemporary philosophical panorama. The volume not only intersects these two axes, illuminating Italian Theory through the animal question, but also proposes an original thesis: that the animal question is a central and founding issue of contemporary Italian philosophy. It combines historical-descriptive chapters with analyses of the theme in several philosophical branches, such as biopolitics, Posthumanism, Marxism, Feminism, Antispeciesism and Theology, and with original contributions by renowned authors of contemporary Italian (animal) philosophy. The volume is both historical-descriptive and speculative and is intended for a broad academic audience, embracing both Italian studies and Animal studies at all levels.

The animality of human beings is completely unknown. Being human means to be something other than an animal, to not be an animal. Felice Cimatti, with reference to the work of Gilles Deleuze, explores what human animality looks like. He shows that becoming animal means to stop thinking of humanity as the reference point of nature and the world. It means that our value as humans has the very same value as a cloud, a rock or a spider.Drawing on a wide range of texts from philosophical ethology, to classical texts, to continental philosophy and literature Cimatti creates a dialogue with Flaubert, Derrida, Temple Grandin, Heidegger as well as Malaparte and Landolfi as part of this intriguing discussion about our humanity and our unknown animality.

This volume provides an overview of contemporary Italian philosophy from the perspective of animality. Its rationale rests on two main premises: the great topicality of both Italian contemporary philosophy (the so-called "Italian Theory") and of the animal question (the so-called "animal turn" in the humanities and the social sciences) in the contemporary philosophical panorama. The volume not only intersects these two axes, illuminating Italian Theory through the animal question, but also proposes an original thesis: that the animal question is a central and founding issue of contemporary Italian philosophy. It combines historical-descriptive chapters with analyses of the theme in several philosophical branches, such as biopolitics, Posthumanism, Marxism, Feminism, Antispeciesism and Theology, and with original contributions by renowned authors of contemporary Italian (animal) philosophy. The volume is both historical-descriptive and speculative and is intended for a broad academic audience, embracing both Italian studies and Animal studies at all levels.

The animality of human beings is completely unknown. Being human means to be something other than an animal, to not be an animal. Felice Cimatti, with reference to the work of Gilles Deleuze, explores what human animality looks like. He shows that becoming animal means to stop thinking of humanity as the reference point of nature and the world. It means that our value as humans has the very same value as a cloud, a rock or a spider. Drawing on a wide range of texts - from philosophical ethology, to classical texts, to continental philosophy and literature - Cimatti creates a dialogue with Flaubert, Derrida, Temple Grandin, Heidegger as well as Malaparte and Landolfi - as part of this intriguing discussion about our humanity - and our unknown animality.