Arguments from Desire, Dogs Aside

Abstract

This paper responds to a position paper by Kobus Marais. The response is one of general agreement, but three issues are raised. Firstly, Marais warns against perceiving too readily similarity between human and non-human animals, and argues for more attention to difference. I argue, to the contrary, that radical difference is often the default assumption, to the extent of invisibility. Secondly, Marais argues for falsifiability as a useful criterion in eco-translation scholarship. I do not see the need, and explain why. Thirdly, I argue that we should examine rather than suppress our desire for familiarity with other organisms in the pursuit of interspecies knowledge exchange.