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Paul Waldau
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Animal Rights: What Everyone Needs to Know? 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

by Paul Waldau (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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In this compelling volume in the What Everyone Needs to Know? series, Paul Waldau expertly navigates the many heated debates surrounding the complex and controversial animal rights movement.

Organized around a series of probing questions, this timely resource offers the most complete, even-handed survey of the animal rights movement available. The book covers the full spectrum of issues, beginning with a clear, highly instructive definition of animal rights. Waldau looks at the different concerns surrounding companion animals, wild animals, research animals, work animals, and animals used for food, provides a no-nonsense assessment of the treatment of animals, and addresses the philosophical and legal arguments that form the basis of animal rights. Along the way, readers will gain insight into the history of animal protection-as well as the political and social realities facing animals today-and become familiar with a range of hot-button topics, from animal cognition and autonomy, to attempts to balance animal cruelty versus utility. Chronicled here are many key figures and organizations responsible for moving the animal rights movement forward, as well as legislation and public policy that have been carried out around the world in the name of animal rights and animal protection. The final chapter of this indispensable volume looks ahead to the future of animal rights, and delivers an animal protection mandate for citizens, scientists, governments, and other stakeholders.

With its multidisciplinary, non-ideological focus and all-inclusive coverage, Animal Rights represents the definitive survey of the animal rights movement-one that will engage every reader and student of animal rights, animal law, and environmental ethics.

What Everyone Needs to Know? is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-0199739974
  2. Edition
    1st
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    December 31, 2010
  6. Part of series
    What Everyone Needs To Know?
  7. Language
    English
  8. File size
    953 KB
  9. See all details
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Next 5 for you in this series See full series
Total Price: $37.20

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW About This Series

Who it's for:

Busy people with diverse interests, ranging from college students to professionals, who wish to inform themselves in a succinct yet authoritative manner about a particular topic.

What's inside:

An incisive approach to a complex and timely issue, laid out in a straight-forward, question-and-answer format.

Meet Our Authors

Top experts in their given fields, ranging from an Economist correspondent to a director at the Council on Foreign Relations, you can trust our authors’ expertise and guidance.

Popular Topics in the "What Everyone Needs to Know" Series

  • International Politics
  • Environmental Policies
  • World History
  • Sciences & Math
  • Religion & Spirituality

From Booklist

The emotionally, legally, and morally fraught subject of animal rights is given a clear-eyed examination in this volume of Oxford’s What Everyone Needs to Know series. Using a question-and-answer format, scholar Waldau guides the reader through all of the thorny elements of the animal-rights movement. A chapter covering the animals themselves, including various classifications of animals and how they are categorized, sets the stage for discussion of the philosophical, historical, and cultural arguments for animal rights that have led to the current legal protections for animals. An exploration of political realities covers all elements of this essentially human-centered subject, while social realities, education, the professions, and the arts all provide arenas for humans to look outside themselves and make informed choices. The natural and social sciences are shown to have a role in creating levels of awareness about animals. The final two chapters introduce major figures, both familiar and unfamiliar, in the animal-rights movement and examine the future for animal rights. A chronology of important events, glossary of animal-rights terminology, and suggestions for further reading complete this compact yet rich volume. --Nancy Bent

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0049B2FZO
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (December 31, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 31, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 953 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 255 pages
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

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Paul Waldau

Paul Waldau

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Paul Waldau is an educator-scholar-activist working at the intersection of animal studies, ethics, religion, law and cultural studies. He is the Senior Faculty member at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, for the two-year on-line Master of Science program in Anthrozoology. The website for this program is

http://www.canisius.edu/anthrozoology/index.dot

He is also currently (Spring 2014) the Bob Barker Visiting Associate Professor of Animal Law. He also teaches Harvard University's Summer Term online course "Animals: Religion and Ethics."

Paul has completed five books. Oxford University Press published his most recent book, "Animal Studies" in February 2013, as well as his fourth book, "Animal Rights," in 2011. OUP also published his first book in 2001, "The Specter of Speciesism: Buddhist and Christian Views of Animals." In 2006, Columbia University Press published "A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics", a major edited collection done in conjunction with Professor Kimberley Patton of Harvard Divinity School. In 2008 Paul co-edited "An Elephant in the Room: The Science and Well-being of Elephants in Captivity", which was published by Tufts University's Center for Animals and Public Policy.

A former trial lawyer and partner in a major California law firm, Paul left the practice of law to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy degree at University of Oxford. He then was a post-doctoral Senior Fellow at Harvard's Center for the Study of World Religion. He has also directed reading groups in animal law at Yale Law School. From 2004 through 2008 Paul was the Director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. He is also the President of the Religion and Animals Institute.

More details are available at www.paulwaldau.com and www. religionandanimals.org

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
21 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

J. Croft
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful Brilliance
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2011
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I found Animal Rights to be an absolute pleasure. I've read it twice and have thoroughly enjoyed Waldau's insightful prose on a highly convoluted issue. His writing is very easy to understand and his knowledge on the subject is unmatched. This is a great book for anyone new to the debate, but provides endless new points to ponder for those of us who have been entrenched for years. I HIGHLY recommend this work.
11 people found this helpful
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John Richard Schrock
2.0 out of 5 stars Lacking in Depth, Science
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2021
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“Animal Rights: What Everyone Needs to Know” by Paul Waldau; Oxford University Press; © 2011; 236 pages, softcover.

From the first pages onward, this book is laden with misconceptions. The author proclaims that most dictionaries define animals as “all living things other than humans.” That would also include plants and various microbe groups, but when I check with dictionaries, I find them far more accurate. The author then declares that in legal systems, “...one almost always finds the term defined to mean ‘living beings outside the human species.” But as a co-author of a compilation on state wildlife regulations, I can solidly declare that no state regulation has such a definition that again would include plants and microbes. Indeed, state legal definitions of animals are far more specific and scientific than defined in this text.

The author does address “How does science categorize animals?” but while recognizing for a few lines that the public and animal rights focuses on mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and the far greater numbers of invertebrates are of less public concern, he then continues throughout the rest of this book to use the word “animals” for properties that only these derived species possess and which 95 percent of invertebrates lack. The scientific definition of “animal” does not include either muscles or nervous systems (sponges are animals). The irony is that he explains this narrow focus on pages 22 and 23, and then continues to make the over-inclusive and erroneous statements throughout the rest of the book. He discusses most briefly: companion animals, entertainment animals, animals in research, food animals, and wildlife. While much of the short discussion can be found in other animal rights literature, the one valid insight is the reference to the reduction of rural children growing up with wildlife experiences.

One frustration of this book is its brief and shallow treatment of issues that echo animal rightist (AR) positions without pursuing the science. For instance, a superficial discussion of wild (free living) versus domesticated animals is clueless to the fact that silkworms are so domesticated as to have lost the ability to fly and without human care, would go extinct. There are other species that will likely only survive in our overpopulated world with ongoing habitat destruction that, while not domesticated, will only survive if we protect them in zoos and other sanctuaries. —Never discussed.

In proposing superficial choices, such as whether we should eliminate disease-causing microorganisms (and higher critters) simply because we consider them unappealing or noxious, I know of no medical scientist who finds this a problem; when human health is harmed or human lives lost, the necessity to act on behalf of the human comes first. Even Albert Schweitzer acknowledged that.

Chapter 3 on “Philosophical Arguments” attempts to explain how moral rights differ from legal rights. Again, his use of “animal” when discussing animal rights would include insect rights although of course he is only referring to derived vertebrate animals. He repeats Bentham’s questions “Can they suffer?” and moves into a brief discussion of utilitarian philosophy for sentient beings, “sentient” being a very poorly defined and unscientific term. His breakdown of schools of thought into utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics is simple enough for a high school student to understand, but also simple enough not to answer questions they would ultimately provide. In addition, as with nearly all AR arguments, there is no recognition that different languages break down concepts in different ways. For instance, the most common Chinese word equivalent for our word “rights” translates into their word for what we would call “responsibility.” Therefore, they would in turn ask, how can an animal have responsibilities? Finally, in a discussion of “Umwelt” (self world), a term indicating that we live within the limits of our senses, he describes how an animal cannot think outside of its abilities to perceive. Yet he somehow overlooks the fact that we understand that we cannot directly perceive microwaves and UV-light, but we have discovered ways to conceptualize them—and other animals have not.

“History and Culture” make a short Chapter 4. Chapter 5 focuses on “Laws” where the author poses a rights-versus-welfare battle. Instead, there is an actual continuum of perspectives ranging from unrestricted animal use at one end to violent Animal Liberation Front violence at the other, and the animal welfare and milder animal rights perspective are not at loggerheads, unless you are heavily toward the animal rights end of this spectrum.

Chapter 6 on “Political Realities” does provide a listing of animal protection laws in various countries. This includes episodes leading into unsuccessful attempts to provide “personhood” for apes, etc. The author also provides his assessment at this time (2011) of increases in animal protection. However, the worldwide pandemic of 2020 and the critical role of animal research in both vaccine development and progress in treatment has likely renewed the legitimacy of medical research with animal models. Brief mention is made of traditional foods and religious traditions involving animals. This moves into a short Chapter 7 on “Social Realities” including consumerism, circuses and zoos (without consideration for preserving species), and the role of sanctuaries for elephants and apes.

Chapter 8 on “Education, the Professions and the Arts” is very superficial. His discussion of dissection attacks it since not every student will enter biology and since it exists in a business atmosphere. He disregards that dissection provides a more realistic definition of anatomy and all of us need to understand our “owner’s manual” with meaning. All of us will experience palpation by a doctor. Those caring someday for an infant will need to normalize to feces and blood. The option to exercise “ethical muscles” and reject reality is not good education. Chapter 9 is titled “Contemporary Sciences—Natural and Social” asks among other questions, “Which animals are intelligent or self-aware?” but fails to distinguish it from self-recognition. It is a short chapter.

Chapter 10 provides “Major Figures and Organizations in the Animal Rights Movement.” A short Chapter 11 briefly discusses “The Future of Animal Rights.” It is followed by a “Time Line/Chronology of Important Events,” a “Glossary,” further reading, and a 22-page index.
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Loren S.
3.0 out of 5 stars A bit repetitive
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2017
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This book contained some very good information but after a while it got pretty repetitive. It gave current and past events which also made it interesting and relatable.
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Jody Hallett-Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars Great price
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2015
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Just as described. Great price
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Lisa F. Kane
5.0 out of 5 stars A book about dogs, law, the arts, visionaries and more....
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2011
Paul Waldau's book charts a broad, easy-to-follow pathway through the thorny world of animal rights. As a fellow traveler in this difficult landscape, and one singled out for some attention in the book, I am especially grateful for his effort. Waldau's smooth style, engaging voice, and deep understanding of the subject matter make his book particularly useful. He discusses many important ways by which humans define their relationship to non-human animals, including science, law and philosophy, history and culture, education and the arts. These large topics are broken down into manageable size through a series of inquiries, like: "Who, what are companion animals?" "Does animal protection occur in all cultures?" "What is happening today in animal law?". Waldau addresses each question with quiet authority, focusing the reader's attention on facts, themes and contexts necessary for a broad and balanced understanding. I believe most readers will find this to be a nourishing book, one that satisfies intellectual curiosity and enlarges the boundaries of compassion.
13 people found this helpful
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Bert
2.0 out of 5 stars A missed opportunity
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2015
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A missed opportunity, alas. This is the fourth book I have read in Oxford's "What Everyone Needs to Know" series, and the first that I found to be less than excellent. Vague generalities abound, with very little in the way of precise, factual information. It reads as if the author has a sort of meta-interest in discourse within the world of animal welfare, but not an interest in the nuts and bolts of animal welfare per se -- an approach that might be fine in itself, but is a far cry from "What Everyone Needs to Know." My favorite part was Chapter 10, "Major Figures and Organizations in the Animal Rights Movement," precisely because the fact-to-generality ratio was highest in this chapter. But even here, generalities are, well, general. The section "A singular commitment, a controversial organization -- Ingrid Newkirk" (concerning the head of PETA) opens with "Reviled by many, idolized by many..." and repeats the word "controversial," but the nature of any controversy is not mentioned at all.

The other books I have read in the "What Everyone Needs to Know" series leave the reader with the notion (deserved, I think) that they have a solid understanding of the main issues, ideas, and events in the topic covered; not so this book. What you are more likely to leave with is the idea that humans have a long and varied history with animals, where some of the variance is cross-cultural, and that the terms "animal rights" and "animal welfare" lend themselves to varied interpretations. I am no expert in the area of animal welfare, but I think most readers will get a lot more out of Peter Singer's classic Animal Liberation, or out of the Sunstein and Nussbaum edited volume, Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions, than from this tepid book.
7 people found this helpful
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Valerie R
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2015
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classroom
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Top reviews from other countries

Dobermann1
5.0 out of 5 stars Animal Rights
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2018
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Excellent in all respects
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Foge
4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, opens your eyes to things you may ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2015
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Fantastic book, opens your eyes to things you may have briefly considered and now this book clarifies them for you. A definite must (this is for serious academics and not just bunny huggers!)
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