Tom Regan on Animal Rights

Comments due by 11:59pm this Sunday (9/1)

In class today we considered Tom Regan's essay "The Case for Animal Rights". In particular, we considered his view that animals are experiencing subjects of a life with inherent value and that our contemporary practices regarding animals systematically exploit them as our resources, treating them as things to be used to satisfy our ends and purposes. This, he contends, fails to show animals the proper respect due them as subjects with inherent value.

Here I would like to extend the conversation. Please watch these four videos (adding up to approximately 30 minutes) where Regan is interviewed (around 13 years ago) by Pat Kenny on an Irish TV show.

Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. And part 4 is here.

In these videos, you might hear some familiar arguments and objections. Listen to how Regan responds to them. How would you respond? What objections might you raise to Regan's views? Does Regan make any good points here? Does any of this stuff challenge your behavior/practices?

Take advantage of this opportunity to talk with others about some important, and obviously very practical, material. Press and challenge each other. Demand reasons. Evaluate arguments. But, of course, always do so in a way that is gracious and charitable and humble. 

  

Welcome!

This is the course blog for Environmental and Animal Ethics.

My hope is that each of you will participate thoughtfully and graciously in the conversations on this blog. The topics addressed in this course are crucial to understanding how we ought to live in this world, how we ought to treat our fellow creatures and the broader environment. What we talk about here will push up against our current behaviors and practices. It may prove to be deeply challenging and confrontational. Consequently, we may be unwilling to consider carefully and charitably views that are different from our own or to take seriously objections to our beliefs.

This is unfortunate and tragic.

I should hope that on this blog we practice listening carefully to each other, expressing clearly and carefully our positions, and handling graciously criticisms raised against our beliefs. Doing so should help us all think harder and better about how we treat animals and the environment in general in addition to thinking harder and better about who we are and how we are to engage the world.

I look forward to joining in conversation with each of you!