Animal ethics and the political

• Published in: Critical review of international social and political philosophy Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 261 - 277
• Main Authors: Cochrane, Alasdair, Garner, Robert, O'Sullivan, Siobhan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 04.03.2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: animal ethics; Animal human relations; Animals; Ethics; feasibility; first principles; Justice; Philosophers; Political institutions; Political philosophy; Political science theories; political theory; positive duties; Theorists
• ISSN: 1369-8230; 1743-8772
• DOI: 10.1080/13698230.2016.1194583

Some of the most important contributions to animal ethics over the past decade or so have come from political, as opposed to moral, philosophers. As such, some have argued that there been a 'political turn' in the field. If there has been such a turn, it needs to be shown that there is something which unites these contributions, and which sets them apart from previous work. We find that some of the features which have been claimed to be shared commitments of the turn are contested by key theorists working in the field. We also find that the originality of the turn can be exaggerated, with many of their ideas found in more traditional animal ethics. Nonetheless, we identify one unifying and distinctive feature of these contributions: the focus on justice; and specifically, the exploration of how political institutions, structures and processes might be transformed so as to secure justice for both human and nonhuman animals.