Speciesism

Rating:
Summary: Simplistic and Silly
Review: Dunayer's views on speciesist language are sometimes interesting, such as her observation that an aquarium should be regarded as an "aquaprison." But they are sometimes downright silly. For example, she maintains that we are "speciesist" if we use the term "animal rights." We have to say "nonhuman rights." We can properly use "animal rights" only when we refer to human rights as well as nonhuman rights. That is the sort of thing that gives political correctness a bad name. Moreover, Dunayer's discussions of Tom Regan, Gary Francione, Peter Singer and others are terribly simplistic and often just wrong.


Rating:
Summary: Not Recommended
Review: I am philosophy major at the SUNY Stony Brook and I am doing an independent study on animal rights theory. I read Speciesism because I thought that it might be an interesting book for my work. I was disappointed.

To the extent that there is anything interesting in Dunayer's book, it has all been said before and better by others, particularly Professor Gary Francione.

Dunayer claims that because animals are property, the law doesn't protect animal interests. Her views on this subject are derivative of Francione's Animals, Property, and the Law (1995), and Dunayer adds little to Francione's discussion.

Dunayer claims that animal rights requires the abolition and not the regulation of animal exploitation. Her views come straight out of Francione's Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement (1996) and again, Dunayer adds little to Francione's analysis.

Finally, Dunayer claims to present a theory of animal rights that requires only sentience and that regards as irrelevant other cognitive characteristics, such as humanlike intelligence or rationality. And that is exactly what Francione does in his Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog? (2000).

Although Dunayer relies extensively on Francione's analysis, she accuses Francione of not being sufficiently abolitionist. Francione is regarded by most scholars and animal advocates as the most uncompromising of the abolitionist theorists and is often criticized for his unequivocal rejection of animal welfare. Dunayer's discussion mischaracterizes Francione's position.

Dunayer also claims that Francione's theory of animal rights accords less weight to the interests of animals than to those of humans and that Francione links basic rights to cognitive characteristics beyond sentience. Anyone who has read Introduction to Animal Rights will know that this isn't true, and that Francione takes the opposite view.

I do not recommend Dunayer's book.

Rating:
Summary: A compelling, incisive guide to animal rights
Review: In her excellent first book, Animal Equality, Joan Dunayer focused on the ways in which everyday language perpetuates speciesism. For example, standard expressions convey the speciesist view that nonhuman animals are inferior to humans. Animal Equality includes a rich set of alternatives to speciesist terms. Among other things, these alternatives acknowledge that nonhumans are sentient beings who deserve as much moral consideration and respect as humans.

In this, her second book, Dunayer builds on her own work and that of other important animal rights theorists. The book reveals much previously overlooked speciesism, offers an outline of nonspeciesist law, and presents strong evidence that all creatures with a nervous system are sentient. Dunayer also introduces a new distinction between different kinds of speciesists: "old-speciesists" don't believe that any nonhumans should have rights; "new-speciesists" advocate basic rights for some nonhuman animals based on their similarity to humans. Nonspeciesists advocate basic rights for all animals based on sentience alone.

Although Speciesism can serve as an introduction to animal rights, the book goes far beyond that. Activists and theorists already involved in animal advocacy will greatly benefit from its clear and penetrating analysis. Speciesism provides helpful guidance to those of us who sometimes ask ourselves whether we're doing the right thing when we support or engage in a particular campaign.

A model of nonspeciesist thought and language, Speciesism is uniquely egalitarian. It's a milestone on the path toward a world in which nonhumans and humans share the same basic rights to life and freedom from oppression. I urge you to read this book.