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Review: The Moral Lives of Animals by Dale Peterson

10,000 Birds

You’d think, then, that applying science to philosophy by studying the evolutionary underpinnings of thought and behavior across species would be right up my alley. With those caveats in mind, I took up Dale Peterson’s The Moral Lives of Animals with hope and not a little trepidation. Other choices I am less enamored with.

Morals 108
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Can we talk about Cecil the Lion?

10,000 Birds

The killing of Cecil was equated with murder, a moral crime rather than a symptom of a ecological problem. Conservation is concerned about protecting populations, species, habitats, ecosystems. That conservation uses the death of the species it is trying to save is both paradoxical and not. And culls of Nyala have been proposed.

Lions 201
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How to Know the Birds: The Art and Adventure of Birding – A Book Review

10,000 Birds

So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.

Birds 114
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The Emotional Lives of Animals

4 The Love Of Animals

Dogs are able to detect diseases such as cancer and diabetes and warn humans of impending heart attacks and strokes. Dogs Sniffing Out Disease. As we know, dogs have a keen sense of smell. More research is needed, but initial studies by the Pine Street Foundation and others on using dogs for diagnosis are promising.

Emotional 100
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SPECIESISM, by Joan Dunayer, Part Deux

Animal Person

I think of "old speciesism" as analogous to racism and sexism in that it is exploitation based on species. Here are some of the my favorite quotes: In reality, species don't evolve toward greater humanness but toward greater adaptiveness in their ecological niche (105). Instead, it is the campaign to modify it.

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On Dolphins as a Gateway to Animal Rights

Animal Person

Riddle me this: If you're in camp #3, do you think it's bad to pursue personhood for individual species, or is it just something you're not going to spend your time on because of the various problems with the process (e.g., Would you actually actively campaign against rights for some species? and dogs don't?

Dolphins 100
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From Today's New York Times

Animal Ethics

If the goal is not moral perfection for ourselves, but the maximum benefit for animals, half-measures ought to be encouraged and appreciated. Mr. Steiner rightly rejects this view as morally flawed. If we are not justified in eating mackerel ourselves, are we not also morally obligated to stop the slaughter brought on by the tuna?