Martha C. Nussbaum, Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility

What the paper says

Justice for Animals argues for using the "Capabilities Approach (CA)" to grant species, and individual organisms, additional rights and protections from injustice.The book's last paragraph summarizes its goal, "I hope that readers will be moved to make a choice for justice and become lovers of animal life" p. 317.Professor Nussbaum's goal of love of-and compassion toward-non-human animals is similar to that of various non-profit organizations.For example, PETA's (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) mission statement includes: PETA opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: in laboratories, in the food industry, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment business.While the goal of Justice for Animals is shared with many other organizations, the approach differs from some as it is grounded in philosophy and law.Rather than simply argue for animal rights based on empathy or kindness, Professor Nussbaum addresses questions such as, Do animals have legal standing in courts of law?Should we intercede to improve the outcome of animals in the wild?Should humans protect the rights of plants?Under the Capabilities Approach, each species-including humans-has a list of "central capabilities," which serve as a species-specific bill of rights.Humans, for example, according to Professor Nussbaum have ten central capabilities including "not dying prematurely," and "to be able to imagine the situation of another" pp.88-89.