Animals and Ethics

Alan Belk is a Ph.D. candidate in the Philosophy Department at the
University of Guelph.

Angus Taylor teaches philosophy at the University of Victoria. In this
work, he seeks answers to four questions: Are animals part of our moral
community, and if so, what rights to they have? Should we eat or hunt
animals (including fish)? Should we use animals for scientific research,
and if so, how we should treat them? Can a person be an animal
liberationist (someone who thinks that there ought to be a moral
dimension to our dealings with animals) and an environmentalist at the
same time? The coverage of each of these issues is both broad and
balanced and the book contains an excellent bibliography.

Taylor writes with clarity and economy. He expresses the views of other
philosophers cogently and is able to identify and separate out the
emotional issues that, to a philosopher, are obstacles to clear
thinking. This handsomely produced book would be a good choice for an
undergraduate ethics courses and, more generally, for readers interested
in our treatment of animals.