Pets, People, and Pragmatism examines human
relationships with pets without assuming that such
relations are either benign or unnatural and to be
avoided. The book addresses a lack of respect in
pet-people relationships; for respectful relationships
to be a real possibility, however, humans must make the
effort to understand the beings with whom we live, work,
and play. American pragmatism understands that humans
and other animal beings have been interacting and
transforming each other for thousands of years. There is
nothing "unnatural" about the human domestication of
other animal beings, though domestication does raise
specific practical and ethical questions. A pragmatist
account of our relationship with those animal beings
commonly considered as pets does not prohibit the use of
these beings in research, entertainment, competition, or
work. It does, however, find abuse and neglect
unethical. Since abuse can occur in any use of other
animal beings, this pragmatist account takes up the
abusive practices in research, entertainment,
competition, and work without arguing that research,
entertainment, competition, and work are inherently
abusive. Some of the sources of abuse have been
addressed by utilitarian and deontological accounts, but
a pragmatist evolutionary perspective offers unique
insights and results in some surprising conclusions: for
instance, there may be an ethical obligation to let a
horse race, a dog show, or a cat compete in agility.
Pets, People, and Pragmatism embarks on a philosophical
journey that will captivate scholars and pet enthusiasts
alike. It provides an important contribution to
longstanding debates in the area of animal issues and
strengthens the idea of multiple approaches to non-human
beings. It also opens space for approaches that
challenge some of the assumptions in the field of
philosophy that have resulted in a dualistic and
hierarchical approach to metaphysics and ethics.
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