The Political Status of Nonhuman Animals
Dan Hooley2018
In this dissertation, I make the case that other animals are political subjects and I offer new proposals for how we should understand the political statuses of different groups of animals. In part one I make the case that other animals should be seen as having full political standing. First, I argue that all conscious individuals have certain basic moral rights and I defend this position against various objections. Once we recognize these rights, I argue that protecting and upholding them requires extending to all conscious animals full political standing, which involves legal rights, legal standing, and some form of institutionalized political representation. I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee-Amy Mullin, Wayne Sumner, and my supervisor Tom Hurka-for their detailed feedback and guidance on this project. Special thanks are also owed to Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka, who read and provided feedback on several chapters of my dissertation. I would not have completed my dissertation were it not for the encouragement, support, and love of my family and friends. Thank you all for the numerous ways you have given me assistance and support as I worked on and completed my dissertation. v Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION 2 THE MORAL RIGHTS OF ANIMALS 2.1 THE CASE FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS 2.1.1 Conscious Individuality and Moral Rights 2.1.2 The Argument from Human Diversity 2.2 ARGUMENTS AGAINST ANIMAL RIGHTS 2.2.1 Attempts to Secure Rights for All Humans While Excluding Animals 2.2.2 Denying Rights to Non-Persons 2.3 OTHER OBJECTIONS TO ANIMAL RIGHTS 2.3.1 The Will Theory of Rights 2.3.2 Lifeboat Cases 2.3.3 Is Conscious Individuality Sufficient for Basic Moral Rights? 2.3.4 Is Conscious Individuality Too Low a Threshold for A Right to Life? 2.3.5 Rights and Thresholds 2.3.6 Medical Experimentation 2.3.7 Rights and Personhood 2.4 IMPLICATIONS OF THE MORAL RIGHTS OF ANIMALS 2.5 OBLIGATIONS NOT TO HARM ANIMALS 2.5.1 Experimenting on Animals 2.5.2 Against the Superiority Argument 2.5.3 Against the Consequentialist Argument 2.6 CONCLUSION 3 POLITICAL INCLUSION FOR NONHUMAN ANIMALS 3.1 WHAT IS
