Acknowledging Animal Rights: A Thomistic Perspective

In this article, I show how it is possible, working from a Thomistic perspective, to affirm the existence of animal rights. To start, I show how it is possible to ascribe indirect rights to animals—in particular, the indirect right to not be treated cruelly by us. Then, I show how it is possible to...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Macdonald, Paul A., Jr. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Philosophy Documentation Center 2021
In: American catholic philosophical quarterly
Year: 2021, Volume: 95, Issue: 1, Pages: 95-116
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Summary:In this article, I show how it is possible, working from a Thomistic perspective, to affirm the existence of animal rights. To start, I show how it is possible to ascribe indirect rights to animals—in particular, the indirect right to not be treated cruelly by us. Then, I show how it is possible to ascribe some direct rights to animals using the same reasoning that Aquinas offers in defending the claim that animals have indirect rights. Next, I draw on elements of Aquinas’s metaphysical worldview in order to buttress the claim that animals have direct rights. I then respond to an attempt to ground the ethical treatment of animals, but not direct rights for animals, in natural law. In conclusion, I affirm that it is permissible to use animals to further the human good so long as in doing so we respect the direct rights that they possess.
ISSN:2153-8441
Reference:Kritik in "The Domain of Justice and the Extension of Rights (2021)"
Contains:Enthalten in: American catholic philosophical quarterly
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.5840/acpq2020124214