Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement (Ecco)

Frankly, I had to throw this book away. I ordered it after reading about it in a New Yorker article about the senseless killing of songbirds for fun and food. I expected the book to be a philosophical take on the issue of animal cruelty, which has been something of a big concern for me for many years (pretty much since I become fully cognizant of the fact that poultry and beef didn't grow on trees, and were not some abstract substances, but, at some point, none other than living, breathing, conscious creatures.) The book, however, offers very detailed and extremely disturbing descriptions of various forms of physical and emotional suffering that billions of animals are subjected to in the course of their very short and very miserable lives. The author depicts the practices of "personnel" (supposedly human) working in the food industry (its first link - the meat/dairy plants) and the scientific/laboratory research - which present the two most horrific forms of animal abuse. Speaking about the often used in a "cute" context term "guinea pigs," lab animals are put through unthinkable suffering varying from living through the process of harsh chemicals being instilled in their eyes (rabbits) while they are restrained by special equipment that doesn't allow for any type of movement, as the "scientist" diligently observes and records the damage the chemical does to the eye over the course of several days (the end result - destroyed pupil of the eye.) And let's just leave it at that, it's the mildest of the experiments sited by the author (and accomponied by several pictures of the above mentioned rabbit, its eyes and the equipment). I was only able to go a few pages into the chapter before I had to put this book aside due to the palpitations I felt in my chest. I stopped at the "humorous" description in a catalog of the laboratory animal equipment that left me grasping for words: it mentioned a restrictor for rats where "the only thing that will wiggle is the nose." Next thing I did was throw the book away, especially that it also came with several disturbing photographs: I simply did not want to have this kind of "material" sitting in my book case. That said, if someone has thicker skin or can skip through the chapters that deal with the "underbelly" of the food industry and scientific progress (although the author argues with the notion that experimenting on animals actually entails that much of a progress) and onto the chapters that deal with how each individual can contribute to reducing the amount of suffering, this book can be more than a useful read. It could also be a good eye opener for those who still think that animals feel no emotion and so "their suffering is pretty devoid of anything conscious," or that tender veal chops are too, well, tender to pass up on at a restaurant (hopefully their opinion will change after they find out what is done to baby calves before they become those tender delectables.) Animals do have the same pain receptors as humans, and they do feel fear and anxiety, and great psychological suffering.

Thank you for being the voice of the voiceless, and for encouraging us to be their voices too. Animal liberation NOW!!!

Every home should have this book on there shelve.

This is one of THREE books I cite as seminal to a book I am writing myself entitled "Stop the Slaughter: Thoughts on Theriocide," which I hope readers will be able to purchase at Amazon at some future date. This work, "Animal Liberation NOW was originally published in 1975. This is the 2023 rewrite subtitled "The Definitive Classic Renewed" with a superb foreword by Yuval Noah Harari. Chapter One's description in the Table of Contents reads: "All animals are equal...or why the ethical principle on which human equality rests requires us to extend equal consideration to animals too. This is because WE are animals too...and they deserve rights to freedom and from unfair and destructive exploitation. This is just a great book...was and is now improved. -Lee B. Croft

Bueno

One of the twentieth century's eminent philosophers, bioethicist Peter Singer's magnum opus does not fail to impress (or disgust, depending on how you look at it). At once evocative and profound, 'Animal Liberation' is accessible to all, from the most robust analytic philosopher to the developing middle-school student. While it first appeared in 1975, the book remains no less prescient for the modern reader. The most important take-away for any reader of this work is the state of animal welfare within our world today -- there is a clear and present problem with the anthroparchic perspective (A term not used by Singer within the book, this is the position that all value is derived from, through, and for human value) our society-as-a-whole takes toward other animals, through ambivalence, ignorance, or willful practice; as well as the natural world in general. Unfortunately, Singer takes a leaf from his predecessors' book (i.e., John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham) vis-à-vis his attempt to ground his attack on 'speciesism' (the systematic oppression of other species, comparable to racism and sexism -- Singer admits to this being an ugly word) in an epistemically unfoundable principle, namely the principle of utility (Singer is more in-line with Benthamite hedonistic utilitarianism in this regard, rather than Millian aretaic utilitarianism -- it is aretaic insofar as he recognizes a distinction between higher and lower pleasures). Moreover, much of his work is rife with informal fallacies (i.e., question-begging epithets, etc. -- this is one of the most frequent examples), which is to say that the structure of his arguments, while questionably valid in themselves, fail to account for the content and soundness of said arguments. It must be recalled that Singer's book is of the popular sort, which entails his preference toward colorful and accessible language. This is laudable, and much needed; however, he does fall prey to his own tactic by setting up fallacious argumentation, both formal and informal. Nevertheless, 'Animal Liberation' stands as an influential and essential piece of the still growing literature surrounding the broad discipline of environmental ethics (e.g., animal ethics, land ethics, ecofeminism, etc.). This being the case, those facts which he has brought to light within the text are what ought to weigh heavily upon the mind. Much work is left to be done; indeed, it is ongoing. While Singer's philosophical position and argumentation fail to impress, it remains nonetheless imperative that our society seriously question our motives and actions toward the world and other animals around us. 'Animal Liberation', understood in the appropriate light, is an ideal primer for introducing the problem, if not adequate solutions. I highly recommend this text for any and all who discern the same problematic as yet still present within our society.

Recently I finally put the time into reading this classic. The content of the book probably needs no summary, but in brief, Singer lays out a simple philosophical argument for taking into consideration the suffering of animals before extensively describing the industrial-scale torture of animals in lab experiments and in factory farms and providing arguments in favor of vegetarianism and veganism. Singer also gives a historical overview of humanity’s views towards other species and responds to objections to his arguments. It is a moving, powerful book. As a nearly life-long vegetarian, even I began to rethink my consumption of eggs and dairy after reading it. The book can be tedious at times. For instance, the chapter on animal experimentation slogs through 70 pages describing one after another experiment that involved the torture of animals for only marginal (at best) gains in scientific knowledge. But stick with it, it’s worth it. This edition has some additional features, the best of which is the updated annotated bibliography of further readings. The one downside to be aware of is that the core of the book could use updating. Although this edition was published in 2009, it appears that everything except the preface was last updated for the 1990 edition. I don’t know how much (if anything) has changed in the intervening years, so I’ll be sure to check out some of those readings Singer recommends in the annotated bibliography.

Excellent

Dieses Buch ist vielerorts schon Pflichtlektüre in Ethik-Kursen. Zu recht. Singer thematisiert konsequent das Lebensrecht aller Lebewesen auf der Erde: Geboren 1946 in Australien, lehrte lange Zeit als Professor für Bioethik. Er gilt als ein Vertreter des sogenannten Utilitarismus, einer Strömung in der philosophischen Ethik, die nach dem Nutzen von Handlungen fragt. Singer prägte in diesem Werk den inzwischen zum Modewort mancher Aktivisten gewordenen Begriff "Speziesismus": „Speziesismus [...] ist ein Vorurteil oder eine Haltung der Voreingenommenheit zugunsten der Interessen der Mit glieder der eigenen Spezies und gegen die Interessen der Mitgli eder anderer Spezies.“ Animal Liberation (1996), 35. Weitere Schriften von Peter Singer: SINGER, Peter: Animal Liberation. Die Befreiung der Tiere. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1996. SINGER, Peter: Practical Ethics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1979; 2nd edition, 1993 (deutsch Praktische Ethik. 2. Auflage. Reclam, Stuttgart 1994).

Very intense thoughts in a very easy to read language

This book has changed my life. I now have stopped eating red meat. I only eat canned tuna and ensure that the eggs I purchase are "free range". The eggs cost more, but are worth it. Every time I consider purchasing beef, I consider where it came from and even do the same when it comes to bacon and pork. I think of those stories. I am cooking meatless meals and ensuring that I get enough protein in my diet as a result of this book. I am reading a few other books written by Peter Singer. This one, though is by far the most profound impact. I have since ordered other books that have the same philosophy that encourage the same ideas.

シンガーの叙述は冷静であり、事実を事実として提示する。だがなぜだろう、この本には啓蒙の光が宿り、また人を動かすだけの本物の力がある。 道徳なるものがもしあるとすれば、これは数少ない真なる道徳の書である。 トロッコ問題は常に人間同士が比較対象だが、ひとりの人間と犬猫だったら、牛豚だったら、小鳥やネズミだったらどうだろう。シンガーによる種差別の克服は単なる動物愛護ではなく、人間が築き上げてきた不可侵の領土を割譲していく過酷なものだ。それに耐えることはふつう、人には難しい。しかしだからこそ道徳的価値がある。 日本語訳が古いことと日本語の文庫版やkindle版がないことが本当に悔やまれる。 英語は非常に読みやすく、大学入試に出てもおかしくないレベル。

Exclusivo artículo. Entregado en tiempo y forma.