Animal minds : the empirical foundations of the interests of animals
Date
2008-04-10T05:59:51Z
Authors
Bell, Mark Cameron.
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Abstract
In this thesis, I submit an empirical method for assessing the interests of non-human animals. This method involves attributing interests to animals on the basis of the choices they make between competing commodities/environments and by gauging the amount of energy they are willing to expend in acquiring these alternatives. Outfitted with consumer demand theory I argue that this method not only determines what an animal wants, it also reveals the commodities that the animal judges to be indispensable to its welfare.