Human dignity and the moral status of animals

Journal article

Kirchhoffer, David. (2012). Human dignity and the moral status of animals. Southern African Public Law. 27(1), pp. 119 - 135.
AuthorsKirchhoffer, David
Abstract

The concept of human dignity is widely used in contemporary ethics and law as a foundational criterion for moral reasoning. Nonetheless, the concept has recently received criticism from various quarters. Some of this criticism has come from representatives of the animal liberation movement. The concept of human dignity is accused of underpinning an ethics that is anthropocentric and speciesist. That is, human dignity is said to be used as the basis of an ultimately unjustifiable attribution of intrinsic moral worth only to human beings and to lead, consequently, to a detrimental prejudice against other species.

Year2012
JournalSouthern African Public Law
Journal citation27 (1), pp. 119 - 135
PublisherUNISA Press
ISSN2219-6412
Web address (URL)https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC153181
Open accessOpen access
Page range119 - 135
Research GroupSchool of Theology
Author's accepted manuscript
Publisher's version
Place of publicationSouth Africa
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