The Moral Rights of Animals

Reviews / Votes

The attitudes of philosophers on our obligations to other animals and the view that other animals possess certain moral rights have shifted considerably in the last 40 years and a great deal of credit for this shift is owed to Tom Regan's The Case for Animal Rights and subsequent work. This excellent anthology grew out of a 2011 workshop held in Regan's honor and is dedicated to him. It features fourteen essays all of which intersect with Regan's views in some way. The authors largely defend the view that other animals have moral rights and those who don't hold that we have significant obligations to other animals. The essays succeed at exploring, critiquing, and expanding upon Regan's work in a way that is both rigorous and detailed, while accessible to those new to Regan or the animal rights literature.... Overall, this anthology makes an excellent companion to the work of Regan, and contains a great collection of readings on current debates in the area of animal rights. It would work quite well in a class on animal ethics, and the material is suitable and accessible for undergraduates of all levels. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * This volume deserves a wide audience. . . for those who believe that philosophical work lacks practical significance, but who are open to being convinced otherwise, I heartily recommend these thoughtful essays spawned by the work and life of a most intellectually honest and compassionate man. * Between the Species * This is an important collection that will prove to be a useful resource to both animal ethics scholars and students, who will enjoy the clarity and accessibility of many chapters. * Essays in Philosophy * The fifteen authors of these essays honor Tom Regan with their appreciation of his ground-breaking ideas about animal rights, but also by advancing the debate about the moral status of animals in all sorts of surprising new directions. Consistently well-written, rigorous, and engaging, these essays represent the state-of-the-art in animal ethics. -- Jean Kazez, author of Animalkind: What We Owe to Animals