Meanwhile, to understand what it might mean to “be” a goat (or, for that matter, to “be” anyone), Thwaites began reading the philosopher Martin Heidegger, who argued that our selfhood resides not in our language-based thoughts but in the interplay of our skills, habits, and moods. Who we are is defined more by our way of interacting with the world than by our beliefs. Reading Heidegger convinced Thwaites that, to inhabit the mental life of a goat, he would need to relate to his surroundings in a goatlike way.

¶ 6:06 AM