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Should Whiteheadians Be Vegetarians? A Critical Analysis of the Thoughts of Whitehead, Cobb, Birch, and McDaniel

Lookup NU author(s): Mx Jan DeckersORCiD

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Abstract

I address the question if Whiteheadians should be vegetarians in two ways. First, I question if Whitehead should have been a vegetarian to be consistent, arguing that his omnivorous diet was inconsistent with his own philosophy. Second, I evaluate the works of three distinguished Whiteheadian philosophers on the ethics of vegetarianism. I argue that Charles Birch, John Cobb, and Jay McDaniel have prioritised animals justifiably over other organisms, yet that Birch and Cobb fail to do justice to the lives of other animals, and that the account provided by McDaniel fails to provide a convincing argument for minimal moral vegetarianism.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Deckers J

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Animal Ethics

Year: 2011

Volume: 1

Issue: 1

Pages: 80-92

Print publication date: 01/04/2011

Date deposited: 10/02/2010

ISSN (print): 2156-5414

ISSN (electronic): 2160-1267

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5406/janimalethics.1.1.0080

DOI: 10.5406/janimalethics.1.1.0080

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