PHI 2396 Lecture Notes - Animal Rights Movement, Practical Ethics, Deontological Ethics
Document Summary
(10) gary varner: the prospects for consensus and convergence in the animal rights debate p. 109-112. What we usually imply with regard to a human right is that there is a special moral dignity and because of it, certain things cannot justifiably be done to the human individual for the benefit of others. In other words, there are things which, regardless of the circumstances and consequences, cannot justifiably be done to human individuals. So, varner"s claim is that when we talk about rights in general, we are deontologists (and that is why he calls the concept of moral right a philosophical trump card against a. Utilitarian point of view), and not utilitarians who argue that the right moral actions maximize happiness for a maximum amount of people. Ethics, singer adopts a utilitarian approach to treating animals (according to which not all animal lives are of equal value and that is why killing certain animals could be justified).
