Essay plan for : Critically analyse the extent to which modern theories of rights, which are increasingly being applied to rights beyond the merely human, represent a new paradigm or are simply the application of old ideas the new si

Two of the main philosopher’s whose theory’s I will be looking at in particular are: Peter Singer, and Tom Regan.

Peter Singer is thought of as a utilitarian, so I will start by looking at him, he starts off his philosophical discussion with Jeremy Bentham and the notion of sentience, and that animals can feel pain. However, Singer, focuses on preferences, and is therefore known as a preference utilitarian, whereas, Bentham focuses more on act utilitarianism.  I will be looking at the similarities and differences between these two utilitarian, points of view.

I will contrast this view with the view of Tom Regan, who is a naturalist, because, these two philosophical theories have been in conflict with each other for hundreds of years, yet they both reach the same conclusions.

Regan has applied the natural law theory to animals, when it was thought by previous philosophers like Immanuel Kant that natural law could not be applied to animals. Regan was also a deontologist; his view is that actions are morally required of people as a matter of duty. Regan has taken Kant’s theory of duty of moral agency and has applied it to the protection of animals. He argues that just as we have a moral duty to defend one another’s right’s, we also has a moral duty to defend the rights of animals, and their rights not to be exploited for the purpose of the pleasure of mankind. These ideas are considered to be derived from natural law. Many of the other theorists of animal rights have either followed in Singer’s or Regan’s footsteps.

There are many critics of both Singer and Regan; I will also be looking at some of their theories. The critics that interest me in particular are Geordie.Duckler who is a critic of Singer, C.Owen who is a big critic of Regan’s work, and Roger.Scruton, I will be looking at some of their views on animal rights. I will be looking at Roger.Scruton’s views on animal rights, as he says he loves fox hunting, but he also loves his horse and so it would be interesting to see what his views are on animal rights.

        

Bibliography (proposed sources to be used).

• Access to Philosphy, Environmental Ethics, Joe Walker, 2000

• The Animal Issue, Moral Theory in Practice, Peter Carruthers

• Animal Liberation – Peter Singer

• Animal rights and wrongs, Roger Scruton, 3rd Ed. London:Metro 2000

• Britannica encyclopaedia

        

• Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy    

• Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy

• Two Major Flaws of the Animal Rights Movement, 14 Animal Law 179 (2007), Lewis & Clark Law School

• The Case for Animal Rights,  Empty Cages 2004

• The Animal Rights Debate, by Carl Cohen & Tom Regan, May 2001

• The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research, New England Journal of Medicine, vol.315 (1986)