Personhood, Ethics, and Animal Cognition
Situating Animals in Hare's Two Level Utilitarianism
Gary E. Varner
Reviews and Awards
"... Personhood, Ethics, and Animal Cognition is thus both a valuable piece of scholarship and an engaging discussion of timely ethical issues." --Journal of Moral Philosophy
"This book is an impressive contribution to debates about the moral status of nonhuman animals, and about the nature and extent of our obligations to such animals under current conditions. It is also valuable for its extended defense of R.M. Hare's "two-level utilitarianism." Varner's contributions are particularly admirable for being both philosophically sophisticated and deeply informed by relevant empirical work."--Brian Berkey, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"[An] excellent example from the bourgeoning field of the philosophy of animal minds. [It] should be essential reading for those working to develop a greater understanding of animals, mind, and ethics." -- Mind
"This is an important addition to the literature on nonhuman animal welfare and rights with some potential implications for environmental ethics...left us with this excellent and original contribution to the debate about animal welfare-or, at least, vertebrate welfare." -- Between the Species
"This book is worth reading for the numerous interesting philosophical contributions it makes to the literatures on animal ethics, personhood, and utilitarianism in general." -- Ethics, Policy & Environment
"In Personhood, Ethics, and Animal Cognition, Gary Varner weaves metaethics and ethical theory (part one) with applied ethics and animal science (part two) to yield a rich and insightful discussion of the norms that should guide our treatment of animals...Varner's book is essential reading for those interested in understanding the ethics of human-animal relationships and the underlying issues of moral status." --Environmental Ethics