Animals, Misanthropy, and Humanity
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: David E. Cooper argues that honest reflection on the ways human beings treat and compare with animals encourages a doctrine of misanthropy—a negative, critical verdict or judgment on humankind or human culture, motivated by a perception that our practices and forms of life are infused with a variety of vices and failings that are both ubiquitous and entrenched. Animals and Misanthropy develops two strategies of argumentation in support of a doctrine of misanthropy, focused on criticism of our treatment of animals and on morally unfavorable comparisons between us and them. Cooper contrasts a vice-based analysis with more familiar theories and approaches in mainstream animal ethics and then surveys a range of possible responses to misanthropy, which he labels “optimism,” “pessimism,” and “quietism.” I identify two omissions from the book’s discussion, namely, veganism and a set of vices not mentioned by Cooper, consideration of which can amplify the case for misanthropy.
Source: Journal of Animal Ethics
Author: Ian James Kidd
Institution: University of Nottingham
Language: English
Topic: Animal Law and Welfare
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3018041188