Animal Personhood

A court case over an elephant’s right to liberation from the Bronx Zoo shows that we’ve come a long way from Descartes’ concept of animal-as-machine. In episode 53, Ellie and David break down an emerging question in animal rights activism: animal personhood and moral status. What does it mean to be a person? And, what are the implications of legally recognizing animals’ right to life and bodily freedom?

Works Discussed

David Peña-Guzmán, et al., Chimpanzee Rights: The Philosophers’ Brief
Nicolas Malebranche, The Search after Truth
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, On Instinct in Animals
Peter Singer, Animal Liberation
Steven Wise, Unlocking the Cage

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