An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory, a 2010 textbook by the British political theorist Alasdair Cochrane (pictured), was one of the first works to link the question of animal rights to the concept of justice in political philosophy. Cochrane's book examines five schools of political theory—utilitarianism, liberalism, communitarianism, Marxism and feminism—and their positions on animal rights and the political status of (non-human) animals. He concludes that each tradition has something to offer, but ultimately prefers what he calls an interest-based approach, building primarily upon liberalism and utilitarianism. He argues that rights derived from interests can protect animals and place limits on what can be done to them; these rights cannot be violated, even in the name of the greater good. The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics described the book as "the first introductory level text to offer an accessible overview on the status of animals in contemporary political theory". Cochrane's account of interest-based rights for animals was considered at greater length in his 2012 book Animal Rights Without Liberation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Introduction_to_Animals_and_Political_Theory> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1066: King Harald III of Norway and Tostig Godwinson, his English ally, fought and defeated the Northern Earls Edwin and Morcar in the Battle of Fulford near York, England. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fulford> 1792: The French Army achieved its first major victory in the War of the First Coalition at the Battle of Valmy. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valmy> 1906: The ocean liner RMS Mauretania, the largest and fastest ship in the world at the time, was launched. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Mauretania_(1906)> 1971: Hurricane Irene moved west from Nicaragua, and crossed from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific, the first known tropical cyclone to do so. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Irene%E2%80%93Olivia> 2001: During a televised address to a joint session of the United States Congress, U.S. President George W. Bush declared a "war on terror" against Al-Qaeda and other global terrorist groups. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Terror> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: malcontent: Dissatisfied with current conditions; disaffected, discontented, rebellious. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/malcontent> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: The battle between good and evil is a legitimate theme for a Fantasy (or for any work of fiction, for that matter), but in real life that battle is fought chiefly in the individual human heart. Too many contemporary Fantasies take the easy way out by externalizing the struggle, so the heroic protagonists need only smite the evil minions of the dark power to win the day. And you can tell the evil minions, because they're inevitably ugly and they all wear black. I wanted to stand much of that on its head. In real life, the hardest aspect of the battle between good and evil is determining which is which. --George R. R. Martin <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_R._R._Martin> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact dal-feedb...@wikimedia.org