This paper has two purposes, first to discuss the nature of ethics (or moral philosophy, I take these terms to be equivalent) and second to examine the notion of moral status in general and in particular the moral status of nonhuman animals.l The practical importance of the second purpose will be apparent to readers of this joumal. But the fIrst purpose must come first, I believe, in order to c...

The determination of individual moral status is a central factor in the ethical evaluation of controversial practices such as elective abortion, human embryo-destructive research, and the care of severely disabled and those in persistent vegetative states. A comprehensive review of recent work on Kant’s conception of moral status reveals the need for a careful examination of the content of Kant...

The majority of theoretical models have defined stigma as occurring psychologically and limit its negative effects to individual processes. This paper, via an analysis of how 'face' is embodied in China, deepens an articulation of how the social aspects of stigma might incorporate the moral standing of both individual and collective actors defined within a local context. We illustrate (1) how o...

According to our traditional conception of agency, most human beings are agents and most, if not all, nonhuman animals are not. However, recent developments in philosophy and psychology have made it clear that we need more than one conception of agency, since human and nonhuman animals are capable of thinking and acting in more than one kind of way. In this paper, I make a distinction between p...

This paper addresses the issue of moral status non-human animals, or question whether sentient animals are morally considerable. The arguments for and against discussed, above all argument from marginal cases. It is argued that have based on their having interests in experiential well-being, but there degrees status. Two interest-based approaches presented discussed: DeGrazia?s view continuing ...