Beating Hearts

Abortion and Animal Rights

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Nature, Animals, Animals Rights, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book Beating Hearts by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf ISBN: 9780231540957
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: March 8, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
ISBN: 9780231540957
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: March 8, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

How can someone who condemns hunting, animal farming, and animal experimentation also favor legal abortion, which is the deliberate destruction of a human fetus? The authors of Beating Hearts aim to reconcile this apparent conflict and examine the surprisingly similar strategic and tactical questions faced by activists in the pro-life and animal rights movements.

Beating Hearts maintains that sentience, or the ability to have subjective experiences, grounds a being's entitlement to moral concern. The authors argue that nearly all human exploitation of animals is unjustified. Early abortions do not contradict the sentience principle because they precede fetal sentience, and Beating Hearts explains why the mere potential for sentience does not create moral entitlements. Late abortions do raise serious moral questions, but forcing a woman to carry a child to term is problematic as a form of gender-based exploitation. These ethical explorations lead to a wider discussion of the strategies deployed by the pro-life and animal rights movements. Should legal reforms precede or follow attitudinal changes? Do gory images win over or alienate supporters? Is violence ever principled? By probing the connections between debates about abortion and animal rights, Beating Hearts uses each highly contested set of questions to shed light on the other.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How can someone who condemns hunting, animal farming, and animal experimentation also favor legal abortion, which is the deliberate destruction of a human fetus? The authors of Beating Hearts aim to reconcile this apparent conflict and examine the surprisingly similar strategic and tactical questions faced by activists in the pro-life and animal rights movements.

Beating Hearts maintains that sentience, or the ability to have subjective experiences, grounds a being's entitlement to moral concern. The authors argue that nearly all human exploitation of animals is unjustified. Early abortions do not contradict the sentience principle because they precede fetal sentience, and Beating Hearts explains why the mere potential for sentience does not create moral entitlements. Late abortions do raise serious moral questions, but forcing a woman to carry a child to term is problematic as a form of gender-based exploitation. These ethical explorations lead to a wider discussion of the strategies deployed by the pro-life and animal rights movements. Should legal reforms precede or follow attitudinal changes? Do gory images win over or alienate supporters? Is violence ever principled? By probing the connections between debates about abortion and animal rights, Beating Hearts uses each highly contested set of questions to shed light on the other.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Plastic Reality by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book Documenting Cityscapes by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book Community Practice Skills by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book On Slowness by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book The Great Civilized Conversation by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book Karl Polanyi by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book New Korean Cinema by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book The Cinema of Terry Gilliam by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book Being Animal by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book The Quest for the Cure by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book Insurmountable Simplicities by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book NGOs as Newsmakers by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book Uneven Moments by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book Levinas and the Cinema of Redemption by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
Cover of the book Working Forests in the Neotropics by Sherry Colb, Michael Dorf
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy