Interspecies Understanding and Compassion: Ethological Perspectives on Animal Subjectivity, Communication, and Empathy

Ethology, the scientific study of animal behavior, has significantly deepened our appreciation for the complexity of animal cognition, emotion, and social interactions. Building on foundational ideas established by pioneering scientists such as Dame Jane Goodall, ethologists today are increasingly turning their attention toward understanding the interspecies dimensions of animal experience.

This Research Topic seeks to highlight groundbreaking ethological research that illuminates the subjective experience of animals, explores the depth of understanding exhibited by animals towards members of their own and other species, and investigates how such insights inspire human compassion and ethical action.

This interdisciplinary Research Topic aims to compile empirical studies, reviews, and theoretical papers that advance our insight into the lived experiences of animals. It seeks contributions that:

1. Illuminate aspects of subjective experience in non-human animals, such as personality, emotional wellbeing, self-awareness, intentionality, and potentially even consciousness.

2. Investigate how animals interpret and respond to behaviors, emotions, and expressions of both conspecifics and heterospecifics, highlighting interspecies empathy and understanding.

3. Examine how different species communicate intentions, needs, preferences, and welfare concerns through nuanced behaviors such as body postures, gestures, vocalizations, facial expressions, and other communication modalities.

4. Critically reflect on how improved understanding impacts human attitudes towards animals, informing policies, practices, and interventions aimed at animal welfare, conservation, and ethical coexistence.

Through diverse and integrative perspectives, this Research Topic will promote dialogue between ethologists, behavioral ecologists, cognitive biologists, animal welfare scientists, conservationists, ethicists, and those involved in human-animal interaction research.

We particularly welcome contributions addressing (but not limited to) the following themes:

1. Animal Cognition and Subjectivity:

- Individual differences, personality traits, emotional states, and potential self-recognition in animals

- Conscious experience and intentionality in non-human species

- Indicators of wellbeing, anxiety, comfort, and pain in diverse animal taxa

2. Inter- and Intra-species Communication:

- Nonverbal communication (including gestures, posture, body language) within and between species (e.g., dogs, cats, horses, non-human primates, marine mammals, birds)

- Emotional expression, facial mimicry, and empathetic responses observed across species lines

- Vocal communication mechanisms and how they facilitate shared understanding within multi-species communities

3. Anthropogenic Impacts and Human-Animal Interactions:

- The roles that understanding animal experience plays in companion animal care, veterinary practice, and other applied settings

- Ethological insights driving conservation strategies, enhancing coexistence, and promoting compassionate wildlife management practices

- The ethical and policy implications of enhanced ethological understanding in addressing the biodiversity and climate crises

4. From Understanding to Compassionate Action:

- How greater ethological understanding can foster empathy in humans towards non-human animals, promoting positive attitudes and triggering behavioral or societal change

- Case studies examining historical or contemporary examples (such as Jane Goodall’s work with chimpanzees) demonstrating how comprehension of animal life leads to committed conservation and advocacy efforts

By integrating findings from rigorous scientific research across multiple species, contexts, and disciplines, this Research Topic aims not just to advance academic scholarship, but also to influence real-world outcomes through heightened awareness, empathy, and educated stewardship, inspired by the enduring legacy of Dame Jane Goodall.

Contributions to this collection promise not only to captivate and inform, but also to inspire meaningful action toward more compassionate, interconnected, and sustainable human-animal relationships.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: animal subjectivity, inter-species empathy, animal communication research, ethology and animal emotions, human-animal interactions, animal consciousness studies, empathy in animals, Jane Goodall animal research, cross-species understanding, compassionate

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.