An Ape’s Ethic- A Conversation With Gregory Tague

Welcome to the fourth episode of Wild Connection The Podcast. In this episode I share a little about how I came to even study animal behavior, some of my early experiences with great apes, and talk with literary scholar Gregory Tague about what he calls an ape ethic. 

I got my start as a volunteer for the Center for Great Apes (https://www.centerforgreatapes.org), a sanctuary dedicated to providing a safe haven of life long care for chimpanzees and orangutans in need of a home. They are always in need of donations, so please consider giving. You can also support them by buying some of the wonderful artwork created by the apes, some of whom love to paint for enrichment. I have shared a piece I own as the cover art for this episode

My guest for this episode is Gregory F. Tague, Ph.D. (1998), New York University, who is a Professor in the departments of Literature, Writing and Publishing / Interdisciplinary Studies and founder and senior developer of The Evolutionary Studies Collaborative at St. Francis College, N.Y. He is also the founder and organizer of a number of Darwin-inspired Moral Sense Colloquia and other multidisciplinary events. Recent, relevant books include An Ape Ethic and the Question of Personhood (Lexington Books, 2020), Art and Adaptability: Consciousness and Cognitive Culture (Brill, 2018), Evolution and Human Culture (Brill, 2016), and Making Mind: Moral Sense and Consciousness (Rodopi, 2014). Tague has written or edited a number of other academic books, such as Character and Consciousness (2005) and Origins of English Dramatic Modernism (2010). He is the founding editor of the peer-reviewed ASEBL Journal (ethics/arts/evolution) and general editor of the Bibliotekos literary website as well as Literary Veganism: An Online Journal. Tague has also edited five literary anthologies, notably, Being Human (2012) and Puzzles of Faith and Patterns of Doubt (2013). Tague is currently working on a book about veganism and evolution.

We first discuss his book An Ape Ethic and his perspective on why we can look to other species for developing a better ethical relationship with nature. We spend that last part of the interview talking about his latest work on the evolution of veganism. 

You can find out more about Gregory, his books, and other works at his website https://sites.google.com/site/gftague/an-ape-ethic

He also co-authors an online journal called Literary Veganism which you can check out here  www.litvegan.net  and another journal of ethics/art/evolution, ASEBL  www.asebl.net

If you are digging the show subscribe and share it so others can enjoy it too. You can follow the show on Itunes, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Also follow the show on Twitter: @WildConnectPod

You can also follow me on 

Twitter: @realdrjen

Instagram: @readrjen

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RealDrJen

There is also a YouTube Channel where you can find a range of videos, some of them tied to podcast episodes. More are on the way so subscribe to Wild Connection TV