8.8: Recommended Further Reading-
- Page ID
- 31102
Overviews of Animals & Ethics
- Susan Armstrong & Richard Botzler, eds. The Animal Ethics Reader, 2nd Ed. (Routledge, 2003, 2008) is the only comprehensive anthology of ethics & animals writings currently available. It is less than ideal, however, because the pro-animal theoretical selections are perhaps not ideal (e.g., the selections from Singer and Regan are not the best available; the selections from other pro-animal ethical theoreticians are a bit idiosyncratic); there are few criticisms of pro-animal moral theorizing, little anti-animal ethical theorizing, and few defenses of particular animal uses; furthermore, the selection on animal experimentation is sparse. The strengths seem to be in the areas of wildlife and environmental issues, as those seem to be the editors’ specialties.
- Tom Regan and Carl Cohen, The Animal Rights Debate (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001) and Tom Regan, Animal Rights, Human Wrongs: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003) (which is mostly The Animal Rights Debate minus Cohen’s contribution) are great introductions: the latter argues for moral rights for animals (and humans) by examining competing moral theories. Regan’s The Case for Animal Rights (University of California, 1983/2004) was recently reissued as a 20th anniversary edition with an updated preface containing replies to critics.
- Tom Regan and Peter Singer, eds., Animal Rights and Human Obligations, 2nd ed. (Prentice Hall, 1989). An excellent collection, despite its age, but is very expensive ($75 new, but much cheaper used).
- Bernard Rollin, Animal Rights and Human Morality, 3rd Ed. (Prometheus, 2006, 1998, 1981). Rollin is a philosopher who has interacted with tens of thousands of people employed in animal agribusiness and experimentation and so has a unique and valuable perspective on the issues. His book is written in a personal style, with many anecdotes about his experiences.
- Angus Taylor, Animals and Ethics: An Overview of the Philosophical Debate, 3rd edition (Broadview 2009). A nice overview of the literature. (On Amazon.)
- Clare Palmer, “Animals in Anglo-American Philosophy” http://www.h-net.org/~animal/ruminations_palmer.html
- Scott Wilson, “Animals and Ethics,” The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/anim-eth.htm
- Lori Gruen, “The Moral Status of Animals,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-animal/
- On argument analysis Richard Feldman’s (University of Rochester, Philosophy) Reason and Argument text, 2nd Ed. (Prentice Hall, 1998
On ethics
10. James Fieser, “Ethics,” The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (sections 2 and 3, on Normative Ethics and Applied Ethics are most relevant): http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/ethics.htm
On Animal Minds / Cognitive Ethology
11. Colin Allen (mypage.iu.edu/~colallen/), “Animal Consciousness,” entry in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/co...usness-animal/
12. Jonathan Balcombe, Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and The Nature of Feeling Good (MacMillan 2006) www.pleasurablekingdom.com/
13. Marc Bekoff’s web page and books:literati.net/Bekoff/
14. Nathan Nobis & Scott McElreath, Making Moral Progress:
15. An Ethical Arguments Workbook, www.MakingMoralProgress.com (in progress)