Ethics and animals : an introduction /

This volume by Gruen (Wesleyan Univ.) is probably the best available introduction to the ethics of humans' treatment of and interaction with animals, from a philosopher who believes that "animals deserve our moral attention and [that] their lives matter.. Gruen's discussions are accessible to beginning philosophy students and to general readers, but rigorous enough that advanced readers will also gain a great deal from them. The book is so readable because Gruen does not simply recapitulate the various arguments about ethics and animals. Instead, she lets those arguments and associated theories come to the fore at appropriate moments in her discussions of humans' interactions with animals. Once she sets the stage with a chapter titled "The Natural and the Normative," she digs into the serious issues related to eating animals, experimenting with them, animals in captivity (including companion animals), and wild animals. In each case, the discussion becomes concrete with vivid, detailed depictions of actual cases. Gruen always makes her own viewpoint clear, but also is fair to those with whom she disagrees. The final chapter is a thoughtful, sensitive evaluation of various methods and tactics used by defenders of animals. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. W. Ouderkirk SUNY Empire State College