Product Description

In December 1998, animal rights activist Barry Horne lay dying in prison on hunger strike. A convicted arsonitst, he had decided to become a martyr to the cause. At the same time, the extremist Animal Rights Militia issued a hit list. If Horne died, ten 'vivisectionists' would be assasinated. Animal rights is an emotive issue never far from the news. But it is often hard to know who to believe: radical animal rights protestors who claim that humans and animals should have equal rights; or scientists who argue that it is always legitimate to use animals for our benefit. In this book, the author carefully examines the arguments for both sides and defends a practical ethics of animals, distinguishing ways in which animals are our equals from ways in which they are not. The animal rights arguments raise the deepest questions of all. In deciding how we should treat animals, we have to reflect not only on the value of animals, but also on what it is to be human, and on the value of human life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #275994 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
Alison Hills is a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Bristol. This is her first book.

Customer Reviews

Highly Recommended
I have read widely on the subject of animal welfare / rights and am very aware of the emotive issues and arguments which will be stirred up by Alison Hills' book.

If you have very strong blinkered views and don't want to engage in any debate on the subject then this isn't a book for you. However, if you want to read an intelligent, discursive and thought provoking work then don't think twice, buy this book!

Alison examines the various philosophical and moral standpoints about animal rights and welfare and follows these with tangible examples and discussions. She looks at various points of view in an ordered and logical fashion and comes to some interesting conclusions with a clear thought process, and many questions, behind each. I found myself addicted to this book as it really got me thinking and questioning why I hold the views I hold in relation to the subject. This meant that I often took a trip on my own train of though and had to re-read a couple of sections!

This book has helped me to crystallise my arguments and made me explore my own views on the subject. It offered me plenty of food for thought which has stayed in my mind even after I finished reading.

I would really recommend this book to anyone who is even mildly interested in the subject. Alison has a very readable style and this book will appeal to anyone from the curious layman to the expert.

Balanced summary
Very few people can be dispassionate about animal rights or the things done by organisations like the Animal Liberation Front. This book is not for you if you are looking for a polemic or for startling new arguments, but it does very well exactly what it sets out to do -- it introduces and summarises the existing debate in a balanced way. I hadn't read any books on animal rights before because I have mixed feelings about medical research and such-like so I assumed they would be depressing, but I'm glad I did read this book because it helped me to understand the arguments and to see where the debate currently stands. It is neither overly emotional nor dismissive of the emotional aspects of the debate, which seems to me the ideal middle ground.

Thought-provoking
Hills' book explores the Animal Rights issue from a variety of angles and begins by offering a very useful overview of the status of animals in earlier centuries. I found the central chapters, which focus on the moral status of animals and the philosophical issues around the right to life, original lucid and accessible. Hills has a fresh perspective on the issue of Foxhunting. The book is especially damning of factory farming/supermarket meat and will cause many non-vegetarians to think a lot harder about where their meat is sourced.
Overall I the book's greatest virtue is its clear-headedness and engaging presentation of challenging philosophical issues. I would certainly recommend it to friends interested in animal rights or ethical issues more generally.