Two New Reviews of Animalkind

James Stanescu reviews Animalkind at Between the Species. and Gary Varner at Notre Dame Philosophy Reviews.  These reviews are extremely refreshing--both reviewers read the book carefully and have a good grip on what's in it.  (Previous reviewers have...ahem...not always done that.) Both correctly note that I cover a lot of "existing debate," but I think James has a better feel for what the book contributes to that debate.  What I contribute is animal ethics without equality--without even Peter Singer's very minimal "principle of equality."  (See chapter 5 for the argument against it.)  I supporter the "sliding scale view"--as David DeGrazia calls it in his book Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction.  (DeGrazia doesn't cite any supporters of that position and I don't know of any.)  James also makes a good point about how the ambiguity of "respect" is both its strength and weakness. In fact, since finishing the book I've done more thinking about respect, and what properly elicits it, and how it's not inextricably connected to equality.  Here's a revised version of a talk I gave about respect and equality last year.