To let it go, or not

Flight Ways: Life and Loss at the Edge of Extinction by Thom van Dooren (Columbia University Press, $30).

Thom van Dooren, a professor of philosophy and anthropology in Australia, doesn’t spend much time on the mechanics of extinction, as a biologist would; instead, he explores its deeper meaning of extinction.

Of course, there’s meaning for humans in the loss of a species—especially when we lose animals or plants that have emotional or cultural resonance for us—but van Dooren examines how each species that ceases to exist effects the web-like relationships of all the other species in an ecosystem.

Unfortunately, our general understanding of extinction is limited to dinosaurs (they’re cool, but it’s a good thing we don’t live next door to one) or to the threat of losing something adorable, like pandas, or big and exotic, like rhinos. In Flight Ways: Life and Loss at the Edge of Extinction, van Dooren is moving us away from this human-centric view; when it comes to extinction—so far, at least—it’s generally not about how we feel. This leads him to examine things like captive-breeding programs and our part in stacking the deck against not just individual species but entire ecosystems, in what he calls “the messy work of ethical conservation for our time.”

Is it fair to keep a species “viable” only to reside in human-created and curated spaces like zoos, for instance, once the natural habitat is gone? Are there times when extinction may be for the best? Van Dooren’s interest is in a less-sentimental and more holistic way of seeing the planet and all its inhabitants here, on the cusp of the sixth great extinction.

Reviewed on Lit/Rant: www.litrant.tumblr.com ( )

Normally I would provide my own description of a book, but after rereading the publisher’s description, I doubt I could phrase it better:

"A leading figure in the emerging field of extinction studies, Thom van Dooren puts philosophy into conversation with the natural sciences and his own ethnographic encounters to vivify the cultural and ethical significance of modern-day extinctions. Unlike other meditations on the subject, "Flight Ways" incorporates the particularities of real animals and their worlds, drawing philosophers, natural scientists, and general readers into the experience of living among and losing biodiversity. Each chapter of Flight Ways focuses on a different species or group of birds: North Pacific albatrosses, Indian vultures, an endangered colony of penguins in Australia, Hawaiian crows, and the iconic whooping cranes of North America. Written in eloquent and moving prose, the book takes stock of what is lost when a life form disappears from the world -- the wide-ranging ramifications that ripple out to implicate a number of human and more-than-human others. Van Dooren intimately explores what life is like for those who must live on the edge of extinction, balanced between life and oblivion, taking care of their young and grieving their dead. He bolsters his studies with real-life accounts from scientists and local communities at the forefront of these developments. No longer abstract entities with Latin names, these species become fully realized characters enmeshed in complex and precarious ways of life, sparking our sense of curiosity, concern, and accountability toward others in a rapidly changing world."

Van Dooren writes lyrically and lovingly about each of these species, although as a whole this is a scholarly presentation, heavily footnoted and with a lengthy bibliography. However, for a layperson interested in the subject, it’s easy to ignore the footnotes and just read the narrative, which is moving and thoughtful and leads the reader though various ethical questions surrounding human “exceptionalism”, as well as some of the attempts being made to undo human damage to local environments and their native species. I highly recommend this book to anyone concerned with the 6th (and only human-caused) extinction, now taking place, whether the reader is interested in its effect on humans, other animals, or the environment.

Read courtesy of a NetGalley download. ( )