Abstract
Today Jeremy Bentham is remembered primarily for his work as a utilitarian philosopher, but his ideas also played an important role in the history of animal advocacy. Bentham’s principle of equal consideration maintains that the interests of animals in obtaining happiness and avoiding suffering is no less important than the same interests of humans. For Bentham, excluding animals from moral consideration is not justifiable. Jeremy Bentham revived compassion for animals and, by recognising that the suffering of animals cannot be ignored, he brought animals back in philosophical dialogue and public discourse.
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Bentham, J. (1879): An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 311.
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Bentham, J. (2018). An introduction to the principles of morals and legislation. Whithorn: Anodos Books.
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Erdős, L. (2019). Animals Are Back – The Ethics of Jeremy Bentham. In: Green Heroes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31806-2_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31806-2_5
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