Ethics About Animals: An Examination of Three Philosophical Approaches to the Animal Question

Abstract

Let us imagine philosophers as storytellers in some fashion. What stories would they tell about animals, about the wallaby and the kangaroo? What would they say to the Martian about how one lives with animals, or because they are philosophers given to thinking seriously about moral questions, about how one ought to live with animals? And how would these philosophers say it? What approach would they take? In this monograph I am concerned with the ways three philosophers - given to thinking seriously about moral questions - have answered the question about how one ought to live with animals. Moreover I am keen to explore some of the problems, issues and insights brought about by these ways. The philosophers of which I speak are Daniel Dennett, Peter Singer and Rosalind Hursthouse. How do I go about this discussion?