Entries by Patricia Soldan

5. The Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights – Principle Five

January 2, 2016 in , /by

Abolitionists reject all forms of human discrimination, including racism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, and classism—just as they reject speciesism. Summary  The Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights rejects speciesism because, like racism, sexism, heterosexism, and other forms of human discrimination, it uses a morally irrelevant criterion (species) to discount and devalue the interests of sentient beings. […]

6. The Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights – Principle Six

January 2, 2016 in , /by

Abolitionists recognize the principle of nonviolence as a core principle of the animal rights movement. Summary  The Abolitionist Approach promotes nonviolence because it sees the animal rights movement as an extension of the peace movement to include concerns about nonhuman animals. Moreover, given that most people engage in animal exploitation, there is no principled way […]

4. The Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights – Principle Four

January 2, 2016 in , /by

The Abolitionist Approach links the moral status of nonhumans with sentience alone and not with any other cognitive characteristic; all sentient beings are equal for the purpose of not being used exclusively as a resource. Summary  Sentience is subjective awareness; there is someone who perceives and experiences the world. A sentient being has interests; that is, […]

2. The Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights – Principle Two

January 2, 2016 in , /by

Abolitionists maintain that our recognition of this one basic right means that we must abolish, and not merely regulate, institutionalized animal exploitation, and that abolitionists should not support welfare reform campaigns or single-issue campaigns. Summary Recognizing the right of animals not to be used as property requires that we abolish the institutionalized exploitation of nonhuman […]

3. The Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights – Principle Three

January 2, 2016 in , /by

Abolitionists maintain that veganism is a moral baseline and that creative, nonviolent vegan education must be the cornerstone of rational animal rights advocacy. Summary  Abolitionists embrace the idea that there is veganism and there is animal exploitation: there is no third choice. To not be a vegan is to participate directly in animal exploitation. Abolitionists […]