The Politics of Species: Reshaping our Relationships with Other Animals

Raymond Corbey · Annette Lanjouw

sept 2013 · Cambridge University Press

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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.

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Raymond Corbey is Professor of Philosophy and Anthropology at Tilburg University and Leiden University, The Netherlands. He has a keen interest in animal cognition and human-animal relations in various settings, ranging from hominin evolution and extant foraging peoples to the globalized economy. He is the author of The Metaphysics of Apes, also published by Cambridge University Press (2005).

Annette Lanjouw is Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and the Great Apes Program at the Arcus Foundation, the largest private funder of great ape conservation and sanctuaries in the world. She has studied bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild, and currently brings her experience in the areas of behavioral ecology, conservation strategy, organizational management, institutional development and policy to her work across Africa and SE Asia.