Animal Pragmatism

by McKenna, Erin; Light, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9780253216939
• ISBN10: 0253216931
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-07-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

What does American pragmatism contribute to contemporary debates about human-animal relationships? Does it acknowledge our connections to all living things? Does it bring us closer to an ethical treatment of all animals? What about hunting, vegetarianism, animal experimentation, and the welfare of farm animals? While questions about human relations with animals have been with us for millennia, there has been a marked rise in public awareness about animal issues -- even McDonald's advertises that they use humanely treated animals as food sources. In Animal Pragmatism, 12 lively and provocative essays address concerns at the intersection of pragmatist philosophy and animal welfare. Topics cover a broad range of issues, including moral consideration of animals, the ethics of animal experimentation, institutional animal care, environmental protection of animal habitat, farm animal welfare, animal communication, and animal morals. Readers who interact with animals, whether as pets or on a plate, will find a robust and fascinating exploration of human-nonhuman relationships.Contributors are James M. Albrecht, Douglas R. Anderson, Steven Fesmire, Glenn Kuehn, Todd Lekan, Andrew Light, John J. McDermott, Erin McKenna, Phillip McReynolds, Ben Minteer, Matthew Pamental, Paul Thompson, and Jennifer Welchman.

Author Biography

Erin McKenna is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Pacific Lutheran University. She is author of The Task of Utopia: A Pragmatist and Feminist Perspective.

Andrew Light is Assistant Professor of Environmental Philosophy and Director of the Environmental Conservation Education Program at New York University. He is author of Film, Philosophy, and Social Criticism and co-author of many anthologies, including (with Eric Katz and David Rothenberg) Beneath the Surface: Critical Essays in the Philosophy of Deep Ecology.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
John J. McDermott
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction: Pragmatism and the Future of Human-Nonhuman Relationships	1	(18)
Andrew Light and Erin McKenna
PART ONE: PRAGMATISM CONSIDERING ANIMALS
1. "What Does Rome Know of Rat and Lizard?": Pragmatic Mandates for Considering Animals in Emerson, James, and Dewey	19	(24)
James M. Albrecht
2. Dewey and Animal Ethics	43	(20)
Steven Fesmire
3. Overlapping Horizons of Meaning: A Deweyan Approach to the Moral Standing of Nonhuman Animals	63	(23)
Phillip McReynolds
4. Peirce's Horse: A Sympathetic and Semeiotic Bond	86	(11)
Douglas R. Anderson
PART TWO: PRAGMATISM, THE ENVIRONMENT, HUNTING, AND FARMING
5. Beyond Considerability: A Deweyan View of the Animal Rights-Environmental Ethics Debate	97	(22)
Ben A. Minteer
6. Methodological Pragmatism, Animal Welfare, and Hunting	119	(21)
Andrew Light
7. Getting Pragmatic about Farm Animal Welfare	140	(20)
Paul B. Thompson
8. Pragmatism and the Production of Livestock	160	(19)
Erin McKenna
PART THREE: PRAGMATISM ON ANIMALS AS CURES, COMPANIONS, AND CALORIES
9. Is Pragmatism Chauvinistic? Dewey on Animal Experimentation	179	(14)
Jennifer Welchman
10. A Pragmatist Case for Animal Advocates on Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees	193	(17)
Todd M. Lekan
11. Pragmatism and Pets: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Maddie's Fund SM, and No More Homeless Pets in Utah	210	(18)
Matthew Pamental
12. Dining on Fido: Death, Identity, and the Aesthetic Dilemma of Eating Animals	228	(21)
Glenn Kuehn
Contributors	249	(2)
Index	251