Extending Rawlsian Justice to Nonhuman Animals

John Rawls ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 273-284
Author(s):  
Sarah Roberts-Cady
Keyword(s):  
Public Reason ◽  
Social Cooperation ◽  
Moral Agents ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
The Status ◽  
Rawlsian Justice ◽  
Rule Out

Rawls’s theory does not, as many philosophers assume, rule out the possibility of justice for nonhuman animals. A careful reading of Rawls shows that the issue hinges on the answer to this question: would it be reasonable for moral agents to agree to terms of social cooperation that include protections for animals? To establish that it is reasonable, one must make an argument for these legal protections that is grounded in public reason alone. Such arguments exist and, indeed, dominate discussions of the status of animals. Accordingly, a Rawlsian framework can be used to argue for justice for animals.

Rawlsian justice in healthcare: a response to Cox and Fritz

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-107144
Author(s):  
Abeezar I Sarela
Keyword(s):  
Public Reason ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Reasonable Person ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Step Procedure ◽  
Rawlsian Justice ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Health Justice ◽  
Policy Proposals

Cox and Fritz state the central problem as the absence of a framework for healthcare policy decisions; but, they overlook the theoretical underpinnings of public law. In response, they propose a two-step procedure to guide fair decision-making. The first step relies on Thomas Scanlon’s ‘contractualism’ for stakeholders to consider whether, or not, they could reasonably reject policy proposals made by others; then in the second step, John Rawls’s principles of justice are applied to these proposals; a fair policy requires to pass both steps. I argue that Cox and Fritz misinterpret Rawls. His theory has two stages: first, public reason is used to generate principles of justice; second, public reason is used to interpret and apply these principles. The second stage requires that proposals are based on the principles of justice from the first stage, and these proposals have to be acceptable to reasonable persons. Thus, Rawls’s theory does not need Scanlonian supplementation. Moreover, the application of Rawls’s theory in Cox and Fritz’s model is confusing. In any case, the problems with applying Rawlsian justice to healthcare can be located elsewhere. First, Rawls’s theory would treat healthcare simply as a ‘primary good’ or resource. Social justice ought to, instead, consider healthcare as an opportunity, in the manner conceived by Amartya Sen. Second, Rawlsian justice rests, ultimately, on the conception of a reasonable person; until and unless the characteristics of reasonable stakeholders are clarified, any model of health justice will remain hostage to the unreasonable.

scholarly journals Neoxabea mexicana sp. nov. (Gryllidae: Oecanthinae): A new species from Mexico and a key for Neoxabea in North and Central America

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-106
Author(s):  
Nancy Collins ◽  
Carlos Gerardo Velazco-Macias
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Central America ◽  
Calling Song ◽  
Sound Recordings ◽  
Tree Cricket ◽  
The Status ◽  
Male Calling ◽  
The Common ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Rule Out

A new species of tree cricket, Neoxabea mexicanasp. nov., is described from northeast Mexico. Although it has morphological similarities to two other species found in Mexico, there are distinguishing characters, such as a well-developed tubercle on the pedicel, black markings on the maxillary palpi, one of the two pairs of spots on the female wings positioned at the base of the wings, stridulatory teeth count, and the pulse rate of the male calling song. The calling song description and pre-singing stuttering frequencies are provided. Character comparisons that rule out other species in the genus are presented. The common name given to this new species is Mexican tree cricket. Sound recordings and video are available online. We also make some clarification of the status of Neoxabea formosa (Walker, 1869), described as Oecanthus formosus, and present a key of Neoxabea in North and Central America.

Euthanasia, Human and Other

2020 ◽  
pp. 157-176
Author(s):  
Anna L. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Moral Agents ◽  
Mercy Killing ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
The Difference

This chapter turns to one of the most important and controversial issues in medical ethics: euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). The intensely personal scale of mercy killing makes it possible to consider practice in a very concrete way, including activities that shape the situations of very ill people and their relations with a variety of other moral agents, from family members and physicians to policymakers. The chapter explores not only human euthanasia and PAS but also killings of nonhuman animals, including both the euthanasia of beloved pets and the killing of homeless dogs and cats in shelters. This comparison highlights the difference that relationships make in ethical arguments. It also reveals how much species runs through ethical argumentation, in the form of unquestioned assumptions about what makes a life valuable.

Moral Seriousness

Philosophy ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 45 (172) ◽  
pp. 114-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Ward
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Rule Out

What is it to be ‘morally serious’? In one sense, it is quite obvious that a man who stands by his moral principles with difficulty and in face of many obstacles, even to the extent of giving his life rather than denying these principles, is a morally serious person. He might be contrasted with a man who gives up or modifies his moral principles whenever their implementation becomes difficult, or threatens to harm his interests; and this person might be called morally frivolous. That is what moral seriousness is; but still, one might ask, what is it to be a morally serious man? What does it involve to be such a man? Is it just a sort of pathological obstinacy; even, perhaps, a misplaced conservatism in face of the facts, which clings to the principles it knows, whatever the cost? One cannot rule out such a possibility. But the martyr and the hero do not consider themselves to be merely obstinate. In the face of risk and even certain suffering, they typically regard it as of supreme importance to be obstinate in sustaining their principles. Something more is felt to be at stake than mere defence of the status quo.

scholarly journals An overview of Liberalism Without Perfection

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
Ivan Cerovac
Keyword(s):  
Public Reason ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Overlapping Consensus ◽  
Political Justification ◽  
The Status ◽  
Critical Scrutiny ◽  
The One ◽  
Influential Book

Quong?s influential book probably represents the most sophisticated defence of Rawlsian political liberalism. This review focuses on its content and systematizes it by chapters, emphasizing its relevance both in the first part, where the author puts the liberal perfectionist position under critical scrutiny by advancing three major objections (regarding autonomy, paternalism and political legitimacy), and the second, where the author presents and defends a distinctive version of political liberalism that clearly differs from the one presented by Rawls in several important features. The review also summarizes Quong?s innovative arguments regarding the nature of an overlapping consensus, the structure of political justification, the idea of public reason, and the status of unreasonable persons.

scholarly journals The basic characteristics of the municipalities of Backa in the Euroregion “The Danube-Drava-Sava”

2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 111-140
Author(s):  
Jelena Milankovic ◽  
Smiljana Djukicin ◽  
Jasmina Djordjevic
Keyword(s):  
Social Cooperation ◽  
The Status ◽  
Basic Characteristics ◽  
Further Development

The Euroregion ?The Danube-Drava-Sava? was brought into being for the purpose of stimulating the integration of the countries that it comprises into a unique entity in which mutual interests will be advanced. The aim of the Euroregion formation is not only the economic, but also the international, trans-border, political and social cooperation. Since 2002. four Serb municipalities have been granted the status of observers. Those are the municipalities of Subotica, Sombor, Apatin and Bac. Owing to this status, the mentioned municipalities have been offered the opportunity to develop different aspects of trans-border cooperation starting with agricultural and economic, leading to cultural and social. This paper is aimed to demonstrate what progress has been made and how much the municipalities have made use of their status in the mentioned Euroregion as well as what their perspectives and intentions for further development are.

scholarly journals Ultrasonic Detection of Fetal Persistent Right Umbilical Vein and Incidence and Significance of Concomitant Anomalies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
jingyu li ◽  
Qian Yuan ◽  
Hao Ding ◽  
Zeyu Yang ◽  
Bing Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Color Doppler ◽  
Prenatal Ultrasonography ◽  
Fetal Anomalies ◽  
Predictive Values ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cardiovascular Anomalies ◽  
Rule Out

Abstract Background: Persistent right umbilical vein (PRUV) is characterized by atresia of the left umbilical vein while the right umbilical vein remains open. Given the limited sample size of most studies, the incidence of PRUV and the status of concomitant anomalies may not be fully reflected. Thus, we studied the incidence of fetal PRUV and its concomitant anomalies on a larger scale using our hospital database. This study hoped to address the following questions: Does PRUV increase the risk of fetal anomalies? If the PRUV fetus also has a single umbilical artery (SUA), does the risk of fetal anomaly increase further? What is the positive predictive value of PRUV for fetal anomalies? Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 756 cases of fetal PRUV at our hospital from January 2007 to April 2017. Prenatal ultrasound and color Doppler images were assessed. All PRUV fetuses underwent echocardiography and detailed ultrasound examinations of other systems. Newborn status was obtained via the database or by telephone follow-up. Results: A total of 435,428 pregnant women underwent prenatal ultrasonography at 16–40 weeks, the incidence of fetal PRUV was 0.17%, and 102 fetuses (13.5%) developed other anomalies. Two complicated cases had trisomy 18. PRUV was associated with a higher incidence of fetal anomalies. When fetal anomalies were classified by body systems, PRUV was associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular, nervous, urinary, skeletal, digestive, and respiratory system anomalies. The positive predictive values of a PRUV for any fetal anomalies and cardiovascular anomalies were 13.5% (95%CI, 11.2%–16.2%) and 5.4% (95%CI, 4.0%–7.3%), respectively. SUA further increases the risk of PRUV fetuses with other anomalies and cardiovascular anomalies. Conclusions: Detailed prenatal ultrasonography and echocardiography should be performed in fetuses with PRUV to rule out anomalies in other systems.When the PRUV is combined with SUA, echocardiography is particularly important. Fetuses with complicated PRUV should undergo chromosomal examination. Although isolated fetal PRUV prognosis is good, complicated PRUV prognosis depends on the type and severity of the concomitant anomalies.

Moralities and Characters as Moral Agents

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Plantinga
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Ethical Criticism ◽  
Engagement Theory ◽  
Moral Agents ◽  
Moral Systems ◽  
Political Morality ◽  
Sociocultural Processes ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Critical Interest ◽  
Rule Out

Estrangement theories, in relation to ethical criticism, favor attention to the political over the personal, to ideology rather than morality, to the systemic and institutional rather than the individual. Engagement theory would consider both the personal and the political, morality and ideology. This chapter rehabilitates a critical interest in morality and in individual characters in the context of screen stories. It discusses how to think about morality in the context of moral systems and discusses the relationships among morality, politics, and ideology. It shows how an attention to characters as moral agents does not rule out attention to broader sociocultural processes, but may in fact enable a better understanding of them. The chapter also notes that much of the interest in screen stories, and in stories generally, stems from a human interest in, and tendency to judge, the behavior of others. Finally, the chapter defends character-centered criticism against its critics.

The Meaning of the Qur'anic Word ‘dābba’: ‘Animals’ or ‘Nonhuman Animals’?

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 167-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarra Tlili
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
English Language ◽  
Conventional Meaning ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
The Status ◽  
Primary Meaning ◽  
Intentional Movement ◽  
Animal World

The word dābba (‘animal’), both in its singular and plural (dawābb) forms, occurs in the Qur'an a total of eighteen times. In its Qur'anic context, dābba is often understood by Arabic mufassirūn, English-language translators and other Islamic scholars as a reference to nonhuman animals only, the implication being that the Islamic scripture does not consider humans to be part of the animal world. However, analysis of the Qur'anic contexts in which the animal concept is treated indicates that this scripture subscribes to the etymological (rather than the conventional) meaning of this word: any being that produces intentional movement, the primary meaning of the verb dabba, is a dābba. Thus, the so-called rational beings (humans, angels and jinn) are part of the animal world, an understanding that is plainly expressed in many medieval Arabic lexicons whose definitions are shaped by the Qur'anic treatment of the animal concept. Furthermore, evidence from within the Qur'anic text indicates that it seems to avoid lumping all animals into one indistinct group. Both these observations may have a significant impact on the status and potentially the welfare of nonhuman animals in the Islamic scripture, and therefore have implications for attitudes to animal welfare.

Animals as Legal Subjects

2015 ◽  
pp. 166-188
Author(s):  
Paul Waldau
Keyword(s):  
Companion Animals ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Legal Person ◽  
Animal Protection ◽  
Legal Personhood ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
The Status ◽  
Intelligence Support ◽  
Legal Subjects ◽  
Education And Society

This chapter contrasts the dominant sense of the phrase “animals as legal subjects,” which minimizes fundamental protections for nonhuman animals, with alternative senses of the same phrase that focus on nonhuman animals’ realities, such as consciousness and intelligence. Support for the alternatives comes from developments within different domains, including legal education and society more broadly, where the meaning of such phrases as “legal person,” “legal personhood,” and “legal rights” is being debated regarding companion animals, wildlife, and many other forms of life. The upshot of the debate taking place over the status of nonhuman animals in law and broader phenomenon of human exceptionalism is a wide-ranging discussion of additional forms of animal protection.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document