Is there a morally relevant difference between human and animal nonpersons?
Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 1 (1):59-68 (1988)
| Abstract | It is commonly believed that we humans are justified in exploiting animals because we are higher beings:persons who have highly complex, autonomous lives as moral agents. However, there are many marginal humans who are not and never will be persons. Those who think it is permissible to exploit animal nonpersons but wrong to do the same to human nonpersons must show that there is a morally relevant difference between the two groups. Speciesists, who believe that membership in a species whose normal adults are persons is sufficient for a right to life, attempt to do just this. As the failure of the best arguments which can be marshalled on their behalf indicates, they are unable to justify their view. I conclude that, although there is a morally relevant difference between human nonpersons and most animal nonpersons, this difference is not an indication of superior moral status. We would do better to abandon speciesism and the assumption thatpersonhood is morally paramount for a view which implies that both human and nonhuman nonpersons are morally considerable and have a right to life. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,664 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesKelly Oliver (2010). Animal Ethics: Toward an Ethics of Responsiveness. Research in Phenomenology 40 (2):267-280.
Steve F. Sapontzis (1982). The Moral Significance of Interests. Environmental Ethics 4 (4):345-358.
S. F. Sapontzis (1988). On Justifying the Exploitation of Animals in Research. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 13 (2):177-196.
Julia Tanner (2005). The Marginal Cases Argument: Animals Matter Too. Think 4 (10):53-62..
Julia Tanner (2008). Species as a Relationship. Acta Analytica 23 (4):337-347.
Matteo Mameli & Lisa Bortolotti (2006). Animal Rights, Animal Minds, and Human Mindreading. Journal of Medical Ethics 32 (2):84-89.
George S. Cave (1982). Animals, Heidegger, and the Right to Life. Environmental Ethics 4 (3):249-254.
Julia Tanner (2011). The Argument From Marginal Cases: Is Species a Relevant Difference. Croatian Journal of Philosophy 11 (32):225-235.
David Detmer (2007). Vegetarianism, Traditional Morality, and Moral Conservatism. Journal of Philosophical Research 32:39-48.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads58 ( #16,839 of 549,013 )Recent downloads (6 months)6 ( #12,298 of 549,013 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
