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On Dolphins as a Gateway to Animal Rights

Animal Person

I did tweet about " Scientists Say Dolphins Should Be Treated As 'Non-human Persons' " yesterday, as I think this is a Gray Matter for a lot of people and might be interesting to explore. Dolphins are so smart that scientists think they should be treated as "non-human persons" and as such it is "morally unacceptable" to use or kill them.

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John Rodman on Dolphinic Wisdom

Animal Ethics

Thus Socrates turned his back on the great speculations about the nature of the universe and focused his whole attention on "the good for man" Twenty centuries later men lament that they pursue loneliness, and that their morals and politics lag dangerously behind their natural science. True Irrationality. Transcendence.

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Moral Vegetarianism, Part 9 of 13

Animal Ethics

For an explanation of this feature, click on “Moral Vegetarianism” at the bottom of this post. Consequently, the killing of some animals for food, if done painlessly, is not morally objectionable. According to Benn, only moral agents have rights. It is clear that few animals, if any, are moral agents in this sense.

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J. J. C. Smart on the Moral Status of Animals

Animal Ethics

I assumed that Hume was right in thinking that ultimately morality depends on how we feel about things. If so, then he is to be excused; but nobody today can think that any particular moral theory has an advantage over the others based on the status it accords animals.

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Hal Herzog's "Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat"

Animal Person

He is an unabashed speciesist, putting humans on “a different moral plane from that of other animals” (11) due to various reasons, such as our “vastly greater capacity for symbolic language, culture, and ethical judgment” (11). On page 172, when Herzog writes, “I am conflicted over many moral issues involving animals,” I respond, “No kidding!”

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H. J. McCloskey on Animal Rights

Animal Ethics

If an animal has the relevant moral capacities, actually or potentially, then it can be a possessor of rights. The evidence available to date about the rational capacities of animals is far from complete, but to date it appears to be decidedly unfavourable to the view that any animals possess the relevant moral capacities.

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The Emotional Lives of Animals

4 The Love Of Animals

Elephants, whales, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and alligators use low-frequency sounds to communicate over long distances, often miles; and bats, dolphins, whales, frogs, and various rodents use high-frequency sounds to find food, communicate with others, and navigate. Is this moral? Photo by Flickker Photos.

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