The Rights of the Nonhuman World by Mary Anne Warren - Assignment Example

“The Rights of the Nonhuman World The reason is sentient animals’ “capa of pain or pleasure” (Warren 608). It means that they can experience suffering. Meanwhile, according to Warren, moral rights exist to protect ones from suffering. Generally, moral rights are either bans imposed on activities which may cause pain, or guarantees of natural satisfaction. Therefore, sentient animals have some basic moral rights. 2. Humans generally, have more expanded moral rights due to their greater moral capacities.

For example, when animals’ liberty is limited for a reason (like saving a specie etc.) even sentient ones won’t experience moral concerns as long as their natural needs are satisfied. Humans can experience humiliation and etc. in similar circumstances. The same thing is with a moral right on life: animal don’t suffer morally from ruined hopes, or long term plans, while humans do. 3. Firstly, despite being not fully capable of a moral behavior, nonparadigm humans still possess a potential or partial moral autonomy.

Thus, humans respect their moral rights in order to keep an existing moral attitude (order) among human beings. Secondly, it’s simply hard to define a degree of a moral autonomy when it’s full, or when it’s partial for nonparadigm humans. 4. Nonsentient natural entities are a great part of natural environment on Earth. They influence life of other entities and thus, trees and mountains etc. have an intrinsic value for other entities. Yet that can’t be discussed in terms of moral rights because nonsentient entities aren’t capable of pain or satisfaction. 5. Both land ethic environmentalists and animal liberationists deny a homocentric view on moral rights.

Warren says they complete, because they both are wrong. Land ethical environmentalists neglect a difference of “logical foundation” when discussing moral rights of nonsentient and sentient natural entities, while animal liberationists don’t see how different is content and strength of human and animals’ moral capacities (Warren 608). Work CitedWarren, Mary Anne. “The Rights of the Nonhuman World”. In Elliot, R. & Gare, A. (Eds.) Environmental Philosophy: A Collection of Readings. Chapter 11.

London, 1983.