"Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth independent of their utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the same consideration as similar interests of human beings."
Explores the moral status of non-human animals and the ethical implications of human interactions with them.
Animal Welfare vs. Animal Rights: Understanding the difference between animal welfare and animal rights is crucial to the study of the ethics of animal rights. Animal welfare is focused on promoting the welfare of animals, while animal rights advocates believe that animals have inherent rights that should be protected.
Bioethics: Bioethics is the study of ethical issues that arise from biological and medical research. The study of bioethics is important in the ethics of animal rights, as many of the ethical issues surrounding the treatment of animals are related to scientific research.
Animal Experimentation: Animal experimentation is a controversial issue that involves the use of non-human animals in scientific research. The ethics of animal rights often center around whether or not animal experimentation is necessary or justified.
Factory Farming: Factory farming is a method of raising animals for food that involves keeping them in tight quarters and using various chemicals and drugs to maximize their growth. The ethics of animal rights are often debated in relation to the moral implications of factory farming practices.
Animal Liberation: Animal liberation is a movement that advocates for the rights of animals to live free from harm and exploitation. The study of animal liberation is important in the ethics of animal rights, as this movement is often at the forefront of animal rights advocacy.
Animal Rights Legislation: The development and enforcement of laws and regulations that protect animal rights is an important aspect of the ethics of animal rights. Understanding animal rights legislation is crucial to understanding the legal protections that animals have.
Ecofeminism: Ecofeminism is a philosophical and political movement that focuses on the intersection of gender and the environment. Understanding ecofeminism is important in the ethics of animal rights, as it relates to the way that we think about and treat non-human animals.
Animal Communication: The study of animal communication is important in understanding the cognitive and emotional capabilities of non-human animals. Understanding animal communication is crucial to understanding animal rights, as it allows us to better understand their needs and experiences.
Anthropocentrism vs. Biocentrism: Anthropocentrism is the belief that human beings are the most important entities in the universe, while biocentrism is the belief that all living things are equally important. The study of anthropocentrism vs. biocentrism is important in the ethics of animal rights, as it relates to the way that we value and prioritize non-human animals.
Sentience: Sentience refers to the ability to feel and experience sensations such as pain, pleasure, and emotions. Understanding sentience is important in the ethics of animal rights, as it is often used as a criterion for determining the moral worth of animals.
Animal welfare theory: This theory asserts that animals should be treated humanely and prevented from suffering. It emphasizes the importance of reducing animal exploitation and supporting animal welfare laws that provide adequate conditions for animals in captivity.
Animal rights theory: This theory takes the position that animals have inherent rights that should be protected, just like human rights. It argues that animals deserve not only protection from suffering, but also freedom from human exploitation, experimentation, and other forms of mistreatment.
Environmental ethics: This theory looks at the ethical relationship between humans and animals, the natural environment and all its creatures. It considers humans as part of the larger ecosystem and stresses the idea of environmental stewardship.
Utilitarianism: Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory that judges the rightness or wrongness of an action based on its ability to produce the greatest overall happiness or pleasure. Within animal rights, utilitarianism seeks to minimize harm to animals.
Contractarianism: Contractarianism theorizes that ethics should be based on the social contract, a hypothetical agreement between rational and self-interested individuals in a given society or community. In animal rights, contractarianism suggests that any animals that are capable of entering into social contracts should have rights.
Theistic ethics: Theistic ethics, also known as religious ethics, draws on religious texts and teachings to argue for humans' ethical obligations towards animals, which may include elements such as respect for all life or stewardship of the earth.
Feminist ethics: Feminist ethics focuses on the impact of cultural, gender and social norms on ethical theory. Within animal rights, feminist ethics may argue for the importance of including traditionally marginalized groups, such as women or animals, in ethical considerations.
Ecofeminist ethics: Ecofeminist ethics combines environmental ethics with feminism, and looks at the intersection of human and animal rights through a feminist lens. It seeks to address the ways in which gender-based oppression intersects with ecological degradation.
Abolitionist ethics: Abolitionist ethics is an approach that argues for the complete abolition of animal exploitation, rather than simply the reduction of harm. It also often calls for the abolition of other oppressive systems, such as capitalism and patriarchy, which are seen as exacerbating animal exploitation.
Sentience-based ethics: This theory is based on the idea that beings that are capable of feeling pain or pleasure, or are sentient, have inherent moral value and should be treated with ethical consideration.
"Broadly speaking, and particularly in popular discourse, the term 'animal rights' is often used synonymously with 'animal protection' or 'animal liberation'."
"They consider this idea, known as speciesism, a prejudice as irrational as any other. They maintain that animals should not be viewed as property or used as food, clothing, entertainment, or beasts of burden merely because they are not human."
"Multiple cultural traditions around the world such as Jainism, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto and Animism also espouse forms of animal rights."
"In parallel to the debate about moral rights, law schools in North America now often teach animal law..."
"Several legal scholars, such as Steven M. Wise and Gary L. Francione, support the extension of basic legal rights and personhood to non-human animals."
"The animals most often considered in arguments for personhood are hominids."
"As of November 2019, 29 countries had enacted bans on hominoid experimentation."
"The vast majority of animals have no legally recognized rights."
"Critics of animal rights argue that nonhuman animals are unable to enter into a social contract, and thus cannot be possessors of rights."
"Another argument, associated with the utilitarian tradition, maintains that animals may be used as resources so long as there is no unnecessary suffering..."
"Certain forms of animal-rights activism, such as the destruction of fur farms and of animal laboratories by the Animal Liberation Front, have attracted criticism, including from within the animal-rights movement itself..."
"...prompted the U.S. Congress to enact laws, including the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, allowing the prosecution of this sort of activity as terrorism."
"They maintain that animals should not be viewed as property or used as food, clothing, entertainment, or beasts of burden merely because they are not human."
"Other animals (considered less sentient) have gained less attention—insects relatively little (outside Jainism) and animal-like bacteria hardly any."
"Some animal-rights academics support this because it would break the species barrier, but others oppose it because it predicates moral value on mental complexity rather than on sentience alone."
"They maintain that animals should not be viewed as property or used as food, clothing, entertainment, or beasts of burden merely because they are not human."
"Argentina has granted captive orangutans basic human rights since 2014."
"Their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the same consideration as similar interests of human beings."
"In parallel to the debate about moral rights, law schools in North America now often teach animal law..."