In this article, I review Philosophy Comes to Dinner, examining some of its persistent metaethical issues, especially some potentially controversial assumptions made by the authors and the tendency found in some to treat thought experiments as empirical experiments. The book covers arguments for different diets, the causal efficacy argument, feminist food ethics, harms of the food system, locavorism, and other topics. The causal efficacy argument, while not a part of all chapters in the book, is its focus, with authors arguing (...) for and against it, and for and against various interpretations of its ethical consequences. (shrink)

Lucretius believed that the gods were wholly perfect and self-sufficient, not vengeful and requiring appeasement. He believed contemplation of the gods allowed one to reach a similar state, as it clarified what was important for a successful human life. This article intends to examine how this theology affects Lucretius’s view of nonhuman-human interaction. It will reach the conclusion that Lucretian Epicureanism contains within it a deep appreciation of the value of life and so prohibits unnecessary disturbance to the lives of (...) others, including nonhuman animals. (shrink)

In this article, I review The Ethics of Killing Animals, discussing its relevance in the contemporary debate and critiquing its authors’ discussion of time. The book covers a multitude of topics, including value theory, identity, the replaceability argument, a Kantian deontological approach to animal rights, and the political rights of nonhuman animals. In particular, the work focuses on three debates: Whether or not happiness and suffering should be symmetrically or asymmetrically weighted in moral considerations; whether or not nonhuman animals conceive (...) of themselves as existing through time; and whether or not existence may be legitimately compared with nonexistence. (shrink)