Animal sentience and the capabilities approach to justice: Martha C. Nussbaum, Justice for animals: our collective responsibility. Simon & Schuster, New York, 2023

Read, Eva and Birch, Jonathan ORCID: 0000-0001-7517-4759 (2023) Animal sentience and the capabilities approach to justice: Martha C. Nussbaum, Justice for animals: our collective responsibility. Simon & Schuster, New York, 2023. Biology and Philosophy, 38 (4). ISSN 0169-3867

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Abstract

Martha Nussbaum’s Justice for Animals calls upon humanity to secure for all sentient beings the central capabilities they need to flourish. This essay review critically examines the ethical and scientific foundations of Nussbaum’s position. On the ethical side, we explore the tension between a robust defence of animal rights and political liberalism, which requires tolerance of a range of reasonable views. On the scientific side, we reflect on how our uncertainty regarding the distribution of sentience in the natural world leaves us uncertain about how many claimants of justice there are and about the relative strength of their claims. We bring out some further problems with Nussbaum’s views on animal killing and pest control. We also reflect on how animal welfare science might be done differently if guided by Nussbaum’s framework.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.springer.com/journal/10539
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Authors
Divisions:	CPNSS Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2023 12:51
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2024 18:48
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/119812

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