Dr Alasdair Cochrane (London School of Economics) - ‘What is a Political Theory of Animal Rights, and Is It Necessary?’
Date: 12 March 2012
Start Time: 17:30
End Time: 19:00
Location: Newport Graduate School, Caerleon Campus
Social Ethics Research Seminar 2011-12
In their recent book, ''Zoopolis'', Will Kymlicka and Sue Donaldson argue that the cause of animal rights would be benefited by drawing on concepts and ideas from political theory, and not just applied ethics. In particular, they argue that ''citizenship theory'' offers an iluminating basis from which to delineate our obligations to animals. Indeed, they claim that such a basis can better explain the different obligations we have to domesticated, wild and ''liminal'' animals. In this paper I concur that political theory offers valuable insights for thinking about what we owe to animals. However, unlike Kymlicka and Donaldson, I argue that the cosmopolitan tradition of political thought is the better approach with which to defend a political theory of animal rights.
A forum for topical research open to staff, students and the general public
All seminars are at 5.30pm, in Graduate School, Library Building, Top Floor at the Caerleon Campus, University of Wales, Newport
Profile from: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/sociology/whoswho/academic/cochrane.aspx
Alasdair Cochrane joined the Centre for the Study of Human Rights in 2007. He teaches on the core course for the MSc Human Rights 'Approaches to Human Rights', as well as on an undergraduate option in Sociology, 'Environmentalism: Theory Politics and Practice'. Prior to joining the Centre, Alasdair taught in the Department of Government at the LSE, where he completed his PhD. He holds a 1st Class BA in Politics from the University of Sheffield, an MSc in Political Theory, and a PGCHE, both from the LSE
Alasdair Cochrane's research interests include the philosophical justification of rights, contemporary political theory, environmentalism, animal ethics and bioethics.