A New Basis For Animal Ethics : Telos And Common Sense
2016 / English / PDF
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This book, the culmination of forty years of theorizing about the moral status of animals, explicates and justifies society’s moral obligation to animals in terms of the commonsense metaphysics and ethics of Aristotle’s concept of telos. Rollin uses this concept to assert that humans have a responsibility to treat animals ethically. Aristotle used the concept, from the Greek word for "end" or "purpose," as the core explanatory concept for the world we live in. We understand what an animal is by what it does. This is the nature of an animal, and helps us understand our obligations to animals. “Possibly the most important book on animal welfare written to date. In exquisite chapter after chapter Rollin presents the philosophical background of what telos is, why it matters and demonstrates with stories, anecdotes, and data, why common sense is an important basis for understanding animals, their needs and their wants. Rollin has the ability to speak to each reader as if s/he is the only person he is talking to. He is a remarkable talent and brilliant teacher. A great read, a must read.” — Alan Goldberg, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Founding Director Emeritus of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, Berman Institute of Bioethics
