Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions

by Cass R. Sunstein (Editor), Martha C. Nussbaum (Editor)

Overview

Cass Sunstein and Martha Nussbaum bring together an all-star cast of contributors to explore the legal and political issues that underlie the campaign for animal rights and the opposition to it. Addressing ethical questions about ownership, protection against unjustified suffering, and the ability of animals to make their own choices free from human control, the authors offer numerous different perspectives on animal rights and animal welfare. They show that whatever one's ultimate conclusions, the relationship between human beings and nonhuman animals is being fundamentally rethought. This book offers a state-of-the-art treatment of that rethinking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199882359
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/01/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Cass R. Sunstein is Karl Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and Martha C. Nussbaum is Ernst Freund Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. Together, they previously edited Clones and Cloning. They are frequent contributors to popular journals and newspapers. Sunstein's recent books include Why Societies Need Dissent and Designing Democracy; Nussbaum is recently author of Upheavals of Thought and For Love of Country.

Table of Contents

	Contributors	ix
	Introduction: What Are Animal Rights?	3
Part I	Current Debates
1	Animal Rights, One Step at a Time	19
2	Animal Rights: Legal, Philosophical, and Pragmatic Perspectives	51
3	Ethics beyond Species and beyond Instincts: A Response to Richard Posner	78
4	Eating Meat and Eating People	93
5	Animals--Property or Persons?	108
6	Animals as Objects, or Subjects, of Rights	143
7	Drawing Lines	162
8	All Animals Are Not Equal: The Interface between Scientific Knowledge and Legislation for Animal Rights	175
Part II	New Directions
9	Foxes in the Hen House: Animals, Agribusiness, and the Law: A Modern American Fable	205
10	A New Property Status for Animals: Equitable Self-Ownership	234
11	Can Animals Sue?	251
12	Of Mice and Men: A Feminist Fragment on Animal Rights	263
13	Animal Rights and the Values of Nonhuman Life	277
14	Beyond "Compassion and Humanity": Justice for Nonhuman Animals	299
	Bibliographic Essay	321
	Index	325

Editorial Reviews

"Eloquent essays."—The Atlantic Monthly

"...a wide range of thought-provoking responses....an accessible survey of the major ideas in this intellectually challenging debate."—The Federal Lawyer

"This collection of essays provides a fine introduction to a number of difficult and controversial questions. It is particularly strong in its treatment of the philosophical and legal issues that surround animal rights."—Science

"These 14 skillfully edited, high quality, and nicely balanced essays present a wide range of legal, political, and ethical perspectives on animal rights, and include some well-arranged sequences of competing arguments.... Recommended."—Choice

"Our society is in the midst of a major debate over animal rights, our duties, and the legal status of animals. This new compilation of essays has profoundly contributed to this debate.... Animal Rights is an incredible resource introducing readers to the basic issues in animal rights and highlighting directions animal advocates may go..."—Animal Law

"An important and thought-provoking work. Sunstein and Nussbaum illuminate issues that have the power to unite or divide those of us who care deeply about animals. By fostering better understanding, their book can help light the pathway to common ground."—Kathryn S. Fuller, President, World Wildlife Fund-US

"Several chapters...discuss political and legal changes that could drastically improve the lives of animals without giving them rights or personhood. ...This is a book political decision makers should read."—The Law and Politics Book Review

From the Publisher