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Book Summary and Reviews of Justice for Animals by Martha C. Nussbaum

Justice for Animals by Martha C. Nussbaum

Justice for Animals

Our Collective Responsibility

by Martha C. Nussbaum

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  • Published:
  • Jan 2023, 400 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

A revolutionary new theory and call to action on animal rights, ethics, and law from the renowned philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum.

Animals are in trouble all over the world. Whether through the cruelties of the factory meat industry, poaching and game hunting, habitat destruction, or neglect of the companion animals that people purport to love, animals suffer injustice and horrors at our hands every day.

The world needs an ethical awakening, a consciousness-raising movement of international proportions. In Justice for Animals, one of the world's most influential philosophers and humanists Martha C. Nussbaum provides a revolutionary approach to animal rights, ethics, and law.

From dolphins to crows, elephants to octopuses, Nussbaum examines the entire animal kingdom, showcasing the lives of animals with wonder, awe, and compassion to understand how we can create a world in which human beings are truly friends of animals, not exploiters or users. All animals should have a shot at flourishing in their own way. Humans have a collective duty to face and solve animal harm. An urgent call to action and a manual for change, Nussbaum's groundbreaking theory directs politics and law to help us meet our ethical responsibilities as no book has done before.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Animal rights can and should be protected, according to this lucid analysis from University of Chicago law professor Nussbaum...This trenchant and masterful blend of political analysis, philosophical study, and call to action is a must-read." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[I]nsightful...A thought-provoking guide to ethical coexistence with the diverse creatures of Earth." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The morality of the human-animal relation urgently needs updating. We can't wish for a more insightful and compassionate guide than philosopher Martha Nussbaum. She urges us to look beyond pain and pleasure and to consider all animals, not just those that resemble us. Each species' specific needs and capabilities offer a guide of how they should be treated." - Frans de Waal, author of Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist

"The most important book on animal ethics written to date, Justice for Animals is a brilliant and remarkably comprehensive exploration of the ethical issues connected with human treatment of nonhumans. a milestone in the field." - Thomas I. White, author of In Defense of Dolphins

This information about Justice for Animals was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Martha C. Nussbaum

Martha C. Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, appointed in the Philosophy Department and the Law School of the University of Chicago. She gave the 2016 Jefferson Lecture for the National Endowment for the Humanities and won the 2016 Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy. The 2018 Berggruen Prize in Philosophy and Culture, and the 2020 Holberg Prize. These three prizes are regarded as the most prestigious awards available in fields not eligible for a Nobel. She has written more than twenty-two books, including Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions; Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice; Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities; and The Monarchy of Fear.

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