Taking Animals Seriously: Mental Life and Moral StatusThis book distinguishes itself from much of the polemical literature on these issues by offering the most judicious and well-balanced account yet available of animals' moral standing, and related questions concerning their minds and welfare. Transcending jejune debates focused on utilitarianism versus rights, the book offers a fresh methodological approach with specific and constructive conclusions about our treatment of animals. David DeGrazia provides the most thorough discussion yet of whether equal consideration should be extended to animals' interests, and examines the issues of animal minds and animal well-being with an unparalleled combination of philosophical rigor and empirical documentation. His book is an important contribution to the field of animal ethics and will be read with special interest by all philosophers teaching such courses, as well as biologists, those professionally involved with animals, and general readers concerned about animal welfare. |
Contents
A short primer on animal ethics | 1 |
The coherence model of ethical justification | 11 |
Animals moral status and the issue of equal consideration¹ | 36 |
Motivation and methods for studying animal minds | 75 |
Feelings | 97 |
Desires and beliefs | 129 |
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Common terms and phrases
actions animal behavior animal ethics animal minds Animal Rights animal's anxiety apes argued argument argument from moral assume attributing autonomy awareness basic beliefs Benzodiazepine brain capacity Carruthers cause challenge Chapter Chimpanzees chimps claim cognitive coherence model concept confinement consciousness Consciousness Explained consideration for animals considered death desires discussion dolphins equal consideration evidence example experience factory farms feelings function gorillas harm humans ibid implies intentional stance interests intuitions judgments justify Koko L. W. Sumner lack language mammals mental statism moral agency moral status nociception nonhuman animals norms objective theories one's Oxford pain Peter Singer phenomenology philosophers plausible pleasure preferences presumption against killing principle problem prudential value question R. M. Hare reason reflective equilibrium Regan relevant relevantly similar require Sapontzis self-awareness sense sentient animals Singer social species statism studies subjective suffering thesis things tion University Press utilitarian value theory vertebrates well-being wrong zoos