Show notes
A zoopolis is a future society that philosophers envision where wild, domesticated, and denizen animals have full political and legal rights. What would that look like? In this episode, we look at how animals were put on trial in medieval European courts, and how animal rights advocates are bringing animals back into the courtrooms to sue people and the US government.
Highlighted moments
But what's weird is that these kinds of animal rights advocates don't accept the flip side of agency, which is moral responsibility. That's something they share with their opponents, right? The opponents of animal rights. Both sides think taking an animal to court for a crime sounds ridiculous.
“When was the last time an animal held power over you? The ecological conditions that we live in in the 21st century are pretty different. The ability of animals to hurt you directly are pretty radically diminished.”
“The problem with guardianship models is the same sort of problem that we see in guardianship models in human communities, when the guardians are from a different culture of the child that they're supposed to be taking care of.”
“If a coyote were attacking your dog, the morality is not at all complicated. You do what you have to do to save your dog. That trumps the coyote's rights to non-interference in her hunting.”
Transcript
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