Concern, Compassion, Curiosity: Understanding Care and Nonhuman Animals in Early Modern France

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The ways in which we interact (and have historically interacted) with nonhuman animals are often complex and contradictory. As a society, we are currently experiencing significant changes in the ways we think about and behave towards animals, including through legislative changes or growing awareness of key debates within animal ethics. The aim of this project is therefore to look back to early modern France - a time when attitudes towards animals were being reformulated, as they are at present - to understand the complex ways care was understood in relation to animals and why this remains relevant today. Whilst care can mean showing concern for another, it is a multi-faceted concept that encompasses our own and others' physical and affective, or emotional, needs. To gain a comprehensive insight into these diverse ways early moderns interacted with animals, the project comprises a broad corpus, from philosophical texts to animal care and veterinary manuals, natural histories, vivisection reports and literary works. Through framing the central research questions within the feminist ethic of care, the aim is to demonstrate the relevance of these understandings of care today and its importance as both a theoretical and practical activity.