Can a pig teach philosophy? Gay Balliet, writer from Eastern Pennsylvania, says yes.

"Pigs are existential creatures," Balliet told MODE. "They have an excellent sense of what behooves them at any moment."

Well, but isn’t that true of any animal? Have you ever seen a wild boar rooting after a truffle? A dog with a bone?

Yes, admits Balliet, but pigs are different. "They’re smart. Really smart. If a dumb person meets up with a pig, the human’s the one in trouble." But existential? "Romping with her pig makes the owner ecstatic," writes Balliet in Lowell: The Story of an Existential Pig, "for in him she recognizes a kindred spirit — a spirit of rebellion." Not to be limited by his piggishness (which is after all a human characteristic transferred onto the poor hog — arghh — more negative connotations there), the swine — according to Balliet — seems to know that life is a summation of acts, not a predetermined set of expectations.

Balliet argues that owning a pig is quite freeing. Most people choose pets based on societal expectations, unfortunately a criterion which determines other behavior as well, often limiting human experience.

On the other hand, "the pig owner has entered a new realm," she writes. "She has been led into the brave new world of the free and independent thinker. As time goes on, the pig owner finds that through her porcine relationship she is changing. She begins responding to situations with her own choices, choices made to benefit her and the needs of her evolving self … If a pig-owner wants to abandon her boring life working as a computer analyst to scour the rain forests in search of the fabled lotus flower of Homer’s Odyssey, then she will follow her dream despite others’ objections."

A pig’s intelligence is "equal to that of a three-year-old child," says Balliet. "Furthermore, their intonations are sophisticated, and if they could talk, they’d have quite a bit to say."

Balliet is married to a veterinarian who has treated pigs in such well-known families as Mario Andretti’s (whose pig is a member of "Fruit of the Month Club" — although he doesn’t particularly care for citrus). During our telephone interview, she said that Lowell was comfortably curled on the sofa, and Lucille, a female porker, was atop another settee in the family room. "They love comfort," Balliet said.

Balliet’s book tells the story of day to day living with a pig (or two, or three …). A pig, she says, "is more than just a hunk of meat." Through housebreaking Lowell and teaching him tricks like pirouetting to the call of "Baryshnikov," Balliet has learned that swine are loyal, sensitive, intelligent companions that can be more rewarding than cats, or dogs, who are so devoted to their owners that they forget to think independently, she says.

One of the unforgettable experiences retold in this book is a formal debutante’s ball exclusively for swine. And the tales of sibling rivalry between Lowell and Gay’s other pigs, Lucille, Ivy Mae, and Annie Louise, are … delicious.

"Pig owners," writes Balliet, "having existential vision, know that they can commit an act of self-indulgence without apology or explanation. Our pigs have caused us to think as they do — for ourselves, choosing for ourselves, being ourselves. In this way, we pig owners are truer to ourselves than others; we are our own beings. We feel alive and giddy with freedom."

So giddy you might be a bit nauseous? What would Sartre say?!

Pick up this one before your first summer barbeque. You just might decide to stop by the health store for a meatless alternative.