Animalkind: What We Owe to Animals (Blackwell Public Philosophy Series)

AnimalKind by Jean Kazez is one of the best books on the moral status of animals that I have seen in recent years. Kazez is unusual among philosophers in that she understands the limits of logic when it comes ethics, especially in the context of our relationships with other species. Thus she avoids foolish consistencies that led Joan Dunayer to conclude that termites have the right to eat your house, Peter Singer to suggest that it just might be okay for you to have sex with your dog, and Tom Regan to contend that while animal research should be outlawed, you should toss a million dogs out of a hypothetical life raft if it would save a single human being. Kazez is one of the few moral philosophers to understand the ethical implications of recent discoveries by psychologists such as Jonathan Haidt, Marc Hauser, and Joshua Greene on role of intuition and emotion of human moral judgment. Philosophical treatises on animals and ethics tend to be simplistic (Speciesism by Joan Dunayer), indecipherable (Derrida's The Animal That Therefore I Am), or boring (Regan's The Case for Animal Rights). AnimalKind, in contrast, is refreshingly comprehensible, interesting, and insightful. Hal Herzog "In Animalkind: What We Owe to Animals Jean Kazez argues for a drastic reduction in our consumption of animal products. Though certainly not an abolitionist, Kazez argues we owe all animals a "respect" which, though its exact boundaries are "fuzzy", is clearly incompatible with our current treatment of them. Kazez's writing style is at both accessible and engaging but what is most impressive is the book's breadth, as it moves elegantly through history, theology, anthropology, neuroscience and philosophy. Both the book's limited conclusion and Kazez's refusal to reduce her position to a set of simple moral prohibitions may frustrate some vegans. Vegans are, however, not Kazez's intended audience. Instead this book is addressed to omnivores who, after decades of consuming a large number of animal products, are open to considering whether their life choices are consistent with their moral commitments. Kazez's style is perfectly suited to this task, with the charming honesty of her brief autobiographical interludes (despite considerable changes to her lifestyle, Kazez is not yet vegan) making it clear that this is not the saint preaching to the sinners. If you are already a committed vegan, then this may not be the book for you but it is the perfect present for your omnivorous friends and family."--Http://flmsdown.net/ebooks/281270-animalkind-what-we-owe-to-animals.html (Feb. 28, 2011) Animalkind: What We Owe to Animals explores the crucial ethical differences between humans and animals. Occupying the middle ground between extreme egalitarianism and outright dismissal, the book instead advocates a position of respect for animals, treatment not afforded to the current inhabitants of factory farms and animal labs. While providing a serious philosophical discussion of a sensitive issue, the book also covers lighter topics, from Descartes' dinner menu to Montezuma's albino zoo. Animalkind ultimately urges us to revere all forms of life, the human kind as well as the animal kind, while respecting important differences. By exploring the ethical differences between humans and animals, Animalkind establishes a middle ground between egalitarianism and outright dismissal of animal rights.: A thought-provoking foray into our complex and contradictory relationship with animals; Advocates that we owe each animal due respect; Offers readers a sensible alternative to extremism by speaking of respect and compassion for animals, not rights; Balances philosophical analysis with intriguing facts and engaging tales Introduction: Wondering in Alaska Part I: Before The myth of consent The order of things Part II: The nature of the beast Animal consciousness Dumb brutes Part III: All due respect The lives of animals Caveman ethics Part IV: Moral disorders Going, going, wrong Science and survival Part V: Next Vanishing animals The endless story.