People, as Aristotle said, are political animals. Mainstream political philosophy, however, has largely neglected humankind's animal nature as beings who are naturally equipped, and inclined, to reason and work together, create social bonds and care for their young. Stephen Clark, grounded in biological analysis and traditional ethics, probes into areas ignored in mainstream political theory and argues for the significance of social bonds which bypass or transcend state authority. Understanding the ties that bind us reveals how enormously capable we are in achieving civil order as a species. Stephen Clark advocates that a properly informed political philosophy must take into account the role of women, children, animals, minorities and the domestic virtues at large. Living and comnducting our political lives like the animals we are is a more congenial prospect than is usually supposed.

The Political Animal shows the very great interest that a biological/ethological approach to politics can have. It is an extremely-thought-provoking study, a valuable contribution to political theory.
-Cora Diamond, University of Virginia
Nobody has thought harder than Stephen Clark about what political philosophy would look like if it took animals seriously. He is concerned with two projects: including in our politics the treatment of other animals, and acknowledging the fact that we humans are animals and so may better flourish in a society suitable for the animals that we are. Unlike many across the political spectrum, he is aware that these projects are linked..
--Seth Crook, Social Theory and Practice
Stephen Clark's book is immensely welcome . . . He gives a fresh and most useful slant to a whole range of apparently familiar topics--anarchism, nationalism, environmentalism, slavery, and above all perhaps the meaning of family. Read him.
-Mary Midgley, author of Beast and Man
Stephen Clark is like a mini-holiday from the mundane and the predictable . . . This book is a delight.
-Bernard E. Rollin, Colorado State University

Clark, Stephen R L; Clark, Stephen R.L