Animal Ethics: The Basics

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Animal Ethics has long been a highly contested area with debates driven by unease about various forms of animal harm, from the use of animals in scientific research to the farming of animals for consumption.Animal Ethics: The Basics is an essential introduction to the key considerations surrounding the ethical treatment of animals. Taking a thematic approach, it outlines the current arguments from animal agency to the emergence of the ‘political turn’. This book explores such questions as:- Can animals think and do they suffer?- What do we mean by speciesism?- Are humans special?- Can animals be political or moral agents?- Is animal rights protest ethical?Including outlines of the key arguments, suggestions for further reading and a glossary of key terms, this book is an essential read for philosophy students and readers approaching the contested field of Animal Ethics for the first time.Contents:Introduction1. Picturing Animal Ethics2. Singer’s Utilitarianism3. Regan on Animal Rights4. Contract Theories5.What is so special about Humans?6. The Holocaust Analogy7. Abolitionism8. Animals and the Environment9. The Political TurnConclusionGlossaryIndex