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Literature

Peter Singer reviews Wayne Pacelle's new book.

Statistics

This blog had 1,725 visits during April, which is an average of 57.5 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 52.4.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from May 2006.

Why Justice for Animals Is the Social Movement of Our Time

"There is no longer dispute among serious scientists that humans aren’t the only animals who have the capacity to suffer physically and mentally. Elephants, great apes, orcas, dogs, cats, and many other animals can experience depression, anxiety, and compulsive disorders. In a study first published in 2011, my colleagues and I showed how chimpanzees used in the biomedical and entertainment industries suffered from PTSD and other mental disorders—much like the psychiatric conditions I’ve documented in human torture survivors." Dr. Hope Ferdowsian, Human Rights Physician.

In "Why Justice for Animals Is the Social Movement of Our Time," recently published in Psychology Today, Dr. Ferdowsian argues that human and animal rights are not mutually exclusive. Quite the contrary, they can be mutually reinforcing because "there is common ground occupied by those working on behalf of people and animals—both because of the shared potential for suffering and because many solutions to successfully combat domination, violence, and abuse are universal."

Statistics

This blog had 1,366 visits during March, which is an average of 44.0 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 38.1.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from April 2006.

Statistics

This blog had 1,157 visits during February, which is an average of 39.8 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 32.5.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from March 2006.

Statistics

This blog had 969 visits during January, which is an average of 31.2 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 30.8.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from February 2006.

Mylan Engel Jr and Kathie Jenni on Philosophy

Philosophy differs from many intellectual disciplines in that it is fundamentally a normative discipline. Unlike those disciplines whose primary aim is to describe various phenomena, philosophy aims to evaluate our views, attitudes, and behavior. At the societal level, philosophy seeks to identify and critically evaluate the cultural assumptions and dogmas of the day, exposing indefensible assumptions as mere prejudice. At the personal level, philosophy challenges us as individuals to assess whether our own beliefs, attitudes, and practices are justifiable, with an eye toward abandoning or revising those beliefs and practices found to be unjustifiable.

As a result, philosophical inquiry often proves profoundly valuable both for society and for the individual. Principal among philosophy's contributions to society is its power to reform: Most of the great social reform movements of the modern era have grown out of philosophical challenges to the status quo. At the personal level, philosophical self-examination helps us to live authentic, meaningful lives. By subjecting our beliefs, attitudes, and practices to critical scrutiny, we learn what our most deeply held values are—an essential first step toward acting in accordance with those values. When philosophy helps us to live our lives in conformity with our most deeply held values, it becomes a transformative experience.

(Mylan Engel Jr and Kathie Jenni, The Philosophy of Animal Rights: A Brief Introduction for Students and Teachers [New York: Lantern Books, 2010], 7 [italics in original])

Note from KBJ: I reject this conception of philosophy. To quote Peter Winch, "philosophy can no more show a man what he should attach importance to than geometry can show a man where he should stand." The purpose of philosophy is to clarify concepts. This includes showing people the implications of what they already believe.

Statistics

This blog had 1,339 visits during December, which is an average of 43.1 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 40.1.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from January 2006.

Statistics

This blog had 1,647 visits during November, which is an average of 54.9 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 51.0.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from December 2005.

Anniversary

This blog is 12 years old today. Here is the first post. There have been 296,367 visits, which is an average of 24,697.2 visits per year, 67.6 visits per day, and 473.3 visits per week.

Statistics

This blog had 1,417 visits during October, which is an average of 45.7 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 38.7.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from November 2005.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from October 2005.