The Politics of Species
Reshaping our Relationships with Other Animals

Experts from a range of disciplines identify the key barriers to a definition of moral respect that includes nonhuman animals.

Raymond Corbey (Edited by), Annette Lanjouw (Edited by)

9781107434875, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 September 2014

310 pages, 34 b/w illus. 1 table
24.5 x 17 x 1.7 cm, 0.53 kg

'The Politics of Species takes a hard look at our cultural assumptions of humanity's profound separation from and superiority to other animal species, and the many abuses of non-humans that follow from those assumptions … overall, the book provides an excellent introduction to the focused issue of human domination of non-human animals, and contains new arguments which will engage people already familiar with the discourse.' Ian Werkheiser, Biological Conservation

The assumption that humans are cognitively and morally superior to other animals is fundamental to social democracies and legal systems worldwide. It legitimises treating members of other animal species as inferior to humans. The last few decades have seen a growing awareness of this issue, as evidence continues to show that individuals of many other species have rich mental, emotional and social lives. Bringing together leading experts from a range of disciplines, this volume identifies the key barriers to a definition of moral respect that includes nonhuman animals. It sets out to increase concern, empathy and inclusiveness by developing strategies that can be used to protect other animals from exploitation in the wild and from suffering in captivity. The chapters link scientific data with normative and philosophical reflections, offering unique insight into controversial issues around the ethical, political and legal status of other species.

List of contributors
Preface
Introduction: between exploitation and respectful coexistence Raymond Corbey and Annette Lanjouw
Part I. Moving Beyond Speciesism: 1. How speciesism undermines compassionate conservation and social justice Marc Bekoff
2. The rights of sentient beings: moving beyond old and new speciesism Joan Dunayer
3. Indexically yours: why being human is more like being here than like being water David Livingstone Smith
4. Apeism and racism: reasons and remedies Edouard Machery
5. 'Race' and species in the post-WW2 United Nations discourse on human rights Raymond Corbey
6. Addressing the animal-industrial complex Richard Twine
Part II. Sentience and Agency: 7. Humans, dolphins and moral inclusivity Lori Marino
8. The expression of grief in monkeys, apes and other animals Barbara J. King
9. Great ape mindreading: what's at stake? Kristin Andrews
10. Intersubjective engagements without theory of mind: a cross-species comparison Daniel Hutto
11. 'Unnatural behaviour': obstacle or insight at the species interface? Lucy Birkett and William McGrew
12. Animals as persons in Sumatra Jet Bakels
13. Interspecies love: being and becoming with a common ant, Ectatomma ruidum (Roger) Eben Kirksey
Part III. Towards Respectful Coexistence: 14. Social minds and social selves: redefining the human-alloprimate interface Agustin Fuentes
15. The human-macaque interface in the Sulawesi Highlands Erin Riley
16. The fabric of life: linking conservation and welfare Annette Lanjouw
17. Home flocks: deindustrial domestications on the coop tour Molly Mullin
18. Entangled empathy: an alternative approach to animal ethics Lori Gruen
19. Extending human research protections to nonhuman animals Hope Ferdowsian and Chong Choe
20. The capacity of nonhuman animals for legal personhood and legal rights Steven Wise
Afterword Jon Stryker
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Animal behaviour [PSVP], Zoology & animal sciences [PSV], Biology, life sciences [PS], Physical anthropology [JHMP], Anthropology [JHM], Animals & society [JFFZ], Social & political philosophy [HPS], Philosophy [HP]