Edit Author: Jessica Pierce
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reason:
The action you have requested is limited to users in one of the groups:
Administrators
, observer.
Override name spelling
Display name
Sort as
Roles
Author
Bioethicist
Section
When creating a page for an author of a Public Domain work, choose "Classics." Select "Observatory" for authors of the Observatory.
Observatory
Classics
Expertise
Research Areas
Animals
Science
+ Source
Earth Food Life Project
Secondary sources
Author Photo Bio
Jessica Pierce is a bioethicist and author of numerous books.
Note
: A caption will be shown next to author avatar. Keep it short (less than 400 characters).
Photo
Upload file
Note
: Keep image small (less than 200kB).
Homepage
Notification contact
Eric Laursen
Jan Ritch-Frel
Katherine Dolan
Reynard Loki
Activate tabs
Full Bio
Commentary
Books and Research
Teaching
Multimedia
Events
Articles
Tab will be added and auto populated with links to the Observatory articles by this author.
Full Bio
Bioethicist and writer Jessica Pierce, PhD, is the author of ''[https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo19416930.html Run, Spot, Run: The Ethics of Keeping Pets]'' (University of Chicago Press, 2016) and ''[https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/L/bo11097201.html The Last Walk: Reflections on Our Pets at the Ends of Their Lives]'' (University of Chicago Press, 2012). Additional authored and co-authored books include ''[https://newworldlibrary.com/product/unleashing-your-dog Unleashing Your Dog: A Field Guide to Giving Your Canine Companion the Best Life Possible]'' (New World Library, 2019, with Marc Bekoff), ''[https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/547454/the-animals-agenda-by-marc-bekoff-and-jessica-pierce/ The Animal's Agenda: Compassion and Coexistence in the Age of Humans]'' (Beacon Press, 2017, with Marc Bekoff), ''[https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo6407651.html Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals]'' (University of Chicago Press, 2009, with Mark Bekoff), ''[https://global.oup.com/ushe/product/contemporary-bioethics-9780195313826?cc=us&lang=en& Contemporary Bioethics: A Reader with Cases]'' (Oxford University Press, 2009, with George Randels); ''[https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-ethics-of-environmentally-responsible-health-care-9780195139037?cc=us&lang=en& The Ethics of Environmentally Responsible Health Care]'' (Oxford University Press, 2003, with Andrew Jameton); and ''[https://www.waveland.com/browse.php?t=507 Morality Play: Case Studies in Ethics]'' (Waveland Press, 2014). Some of the questions Pierce explores in her writings on death and dying in animals are: Do animals have death awareness? Why is euthanasia almost always considered the compassionate end point for our animals, but not for our human companions? Is there ever a good reason to euthanize a healthy dog? Why do people often grieve more deeply for their pets than they do for people?
Commentary
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Source
Time
Date
June
Description
The unpleasant truth is that pet keeping often causes significant harm to animals. Pierce envisages a revolution in human-animal ties.
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Source
Psychology Today
Date
August
Description
A study suggests a concerning disconnect between the stated objectives of animal welfare studies and their actual focus. Although labeled “animal welfare science,” research may be directed at increased productivity, compliance with welfare regulations, appealing to customers who want “humane” meat, and, above all, increased profitability.
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Source
Psychology Today
Date
August
Description
The practice of purchasing live animals to keep as pets has become prevalent worldwide, with millions of households acquiring animals each year for the purposes of companionship or entertainment. Although pet keeping is generally assumed to be a benign activity that simply adds happiness to the world, there are darker sides to the practice.
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Marc Bekoff
Source
Psychology Times
Date
September
Description
Marc Bekoff reviews [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/jessica-pierce-phd Jessica Pierce’s] [https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/animal-emotions/201209/dogs-their-last-walk-the-end-their-lives ''The Last Walk: Reflections on Our Pets at the End of Their Lives''.]
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Source
Date
Description
Add
Books and Research
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Date
October
Description
What would happen to dogs if humans simply disappeared? Would dogs be able to survive on their own without us? ''A Dog’s World'' imagines a posthuman future for dogs, revealing how dogs would survive—and possibly even thrive—and explaining how this new and revolutionary perspective can guide how we interact with dogs now. Drawing on biology, ecology, and the latest findings on the lives and behavior of dogs and their wild relatives, Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff—two of today’s most innovative thinkers about dogs—explore who dogs might become without direct human intervention into breeding, arranged playdates at the dog park, regular feedings, and veterinary care. Pierce and Bekoff show how dogs are quick learners who are highly adaptable and opportunistic, and they offer compelling evidence that dogs already do survive on their own—and could do so in a world without us.
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Marc Bekoff
Publisher
New World Library
Date
March
Description
No matter how cushy their lives, dogs live on our terms. They compromise their freedom and instinctual pleasure, as well as their innate strategies for coping with stress and anxiety, in exchange for the love, comfort, and care they get from us. But it is possible to let dogs be dogs without wreaking havoc on our lives, as biologist Marc Bekoff and bioethicist Jessica Pierce show in this fascinating book. They begin by illuminating the true nature of dogs and helping us “walk in their paws.” They reveal what smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing mean to dogs and then guide readers through everyday ways of enhancing dogs’ freedom in safe, mutually happy ways. The rewards, they show, are great for dog and human alike.
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Date
May
Description
A life shared with pets brings many emotions. We feel love for our companions, certainly, and happiness at the thought that we’re providing them with a safe, healthy life. But there’s another emotion, less often acknowledged, that can be nearly as powerful: guilt. Is keeping pets actually ''good'' for the pets themselves? A lover of pets herself, Pierce understands the joys that pets bring us. But she also refuses to deny the ambiguous ethics at the heart of the relationship, and through a mix of personal stories, philosophical reflections, and scientifically informed analyses of animal behavior and natural history, she puts pet-keeping to the test. Is it ethical to keep pets at all? Are some species more suited to the relationship than others? Are there species one should never attempt to own? And are there ways that we can improve our pets’ lives, so that we can be confident that we are giving them as much as they give us? Deeply empathetic, yet rigorous and unflinching in her thinking, Pierce has written a book that is sure to help any pet owner, unsettling assumptions but also giving them the knowledge to build deeper, better relationships with the animals with whom they’ve chosen to share their lives.
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Date
September
Description
From the moment when we first open our homes—and our hearts—to a new pet, we know that one day we will have to watch this beloved animal age and die. The pain of that eventual separation is the cruel corollary to the love we share with them, and most of us deal with it by simply ignoring its inevitability.<div>With ''The Last Walk'', Jessica Pierce makes a forceful case that our pets, and the love we bear them, deserve better. Drawing on the moving story of the last year of the life of her own treasured dog, Ody, she presents an in-depth exploration of the practical, medical, and moral issues that trouble pet owners confronted with the decline and death of their companion animals. Pierce combines heart-wrenching personal stories, interviews, and scientific research to consider a wide range of questions about animal aging, end-of-life care, and death. She tackles such vexing questions as whether animals are aware of death, whether they’re feeling pain, and if and when euthanasia is appropriate. Given what we know and can learn, how should we best honor the lives of our pets, both while they live and after they have left us?</div>
Title
Sub-Title
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Authors
Publisher
Date
Description
Add
Teaching
Course Title
Subject(s)/Area(s)
External link
Upload file
Link
File
Upload file
Co-Teachers
Institution(s)
Date
—
Description
Add
Multimedia
Title
Link
Type
Video
Audio
Webpage
File
Tag
Interview
Feature
Date
March
Description
Dogwise podcast interviews Jessica Pierce about how to be a better human for our dog companions.
Title
Link
Type
Video
Audio
Webpage
File
Tag
Interview
Feature
Date
May
Description
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by bioethicist Dr. Jessica Pierce to talk about her new book, ''[https://amzn.to/3QkctyU Who's a Good Dog?: And How to Be a Better Human]''. They discuss the complex ethics of dog-human relationships, including topics like animal welfare, canine enrichment, and end-of-life care.
Title
Link
Type
Video
Audio
Webpage
File
Tag
Interview
Feature
Date
March
Description
Jessica Pierce's her work focuses on human-animal relationships & interconnections between ecosystems & health. Her “All dogs go to heaven” blog at Psychology Today is [https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/all-dogs-go-heaven here]. In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is “evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.”
Title
Link
Type
Video
Audio
Webpage
File
Tag
Interview
Feature
Date
March
Description
In this episode, Ricardo Lopes talks to Dr Jessica Pierce about animal ethics. First, we focus on the biological bases of morality and their importance to animal ethics, and some aspects of animal psychology that might be particularly relevant to the discussion, like consciousness and empathy. In the second part of the interview, they talk about specific topics, like animal research and testing in science, animal conservation in zoos and aquaria, and the food industry and veganism.
Title
Link
Type
Video
Audio
Webpage
File
Tag
Interview
Feature
Date
Description
Add
Events
Display calendar
Calendar ID
Google calendar ID can be found on calendar settings page.
Summary:
Save page
Show preview
Show changes
Cancel
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Log in
Namespaces
Page
Discussion
English
Views
Read
View form
View source
View history
More
Refresh
Search
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Special pages
Page information