Does Fish Welfare Matter? On the Moral Relevance of Agency
Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 26 (1):63-74 (2013)
Abstract
To determine whether fish welfare matters morally, we need to know what characteristics or capacities beings need to have in order to be morally considerable, and whether fish have such characteristics. In this paper I discuss a group of theories, Kantian practical reasoning theories, in which agency (or practical rationality) is traditionally thought to be a necessary condition for moral considerability. An individual must have quite sophisticated capacities to be a (moral) agent in such theories: she must be able to act on rational principles. It seems unlikely that nonhuman animals such as fish have such capacities. I argue, however, that on the basis of certain Kantian arguments, moral agents have reason to accept duties to nonrational animals if they are agents in a much less demanding sense: if they are motivated to pursue the objects of their desires. If fish have this capacity, their welfare matters morallyDOI
10.1007/s10806-011-9372-9
My notes
Similar books and articles
Who Cares about Farmed Fish? Citizen Perceptions of the Welfare and the Mental Abilities of Fish.Saara Kupsala, Pekka Jokinen & Markus Vinnari - 2013 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 26 (1):119-135.
Fish Welfare in Aquaculture: Explicating the Chain of Interactions Between Science and Ethics. [REVIEW]Bernice Bovenkerk & Franck L. B. Meijboom - 2013 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 26 (1):41-61.
Sustainability at the Crossroads of Fish Consumption and Production Ethical Dilemmas of Fish Buyers at Retail Organizations in The Netherlands.Karianne Kalshoven & Franck L. B. Meijboom - 2013 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 26 (1):101-117.
The Moral Status of Fish. The Importance and Limitations of a Fundamental Discussion for Practical Ethical Questions in Fish Farming.Bernice Bovenkerk & Franck L. B. Meijboom - 2012 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 25 (6):843-860.
Finfish Aquaculture: Animal Welfare, the Environment, and Ethical Implications. [REVIEW]Jenny Bergqvist & Stefan Gunnarsson - 2013 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 26 (1):75-99.
The moral considerability of invasive transgenic animals.Benjamin Hale - 2006 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 19 (4):337-366.
Human Welfare and Moral Worth: Kantian Perspectives.Thomas E. Hill - 2002 - Oxford University Press.
The importance of measurement to improve the welfare of livestock, poultry and fish.Temple Grandin - 2010 - In Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach. Cab International.
Moral agency in other animals.Paul Shapiro - 2006 - Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 27 (4):357-373.
Contemplating the Interests of Fish: The Angler’s Challenge.A. Dionys de Leeuw - 1996 - Environmental Ethics 18 (4):373-390.
Animality and Agency: A Kantian Approach to Abortion.Lara Denis - 2008 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 76 (1):117-37.
Between angels and animals: The question of robot ethics, or is Kantian moral agency desirable?Anthony F. Beavers - unknown
Improving livestock, poultry, and fish welfare in slaughter plants with auditing programs.Temple Grandin - 2010 - In Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach. Cab International.
A Kantian moral duty for the soon-to-be demented to commit suicide.Dennis R. Cooley - 2007 - American Journal of Bioethics 7 (6):37 – 44.
Analytics
Added to PP
2012-02-06
Downloads
186 (#69,407)
6 months
1 (#449,220)
2012-02-06
Downloads
186 (#69,407)
6 months
1 (#449,220)
Historical graph of downloads