Discussion Questions: “The Case for Animal Rights” by Tom Regan
1. Regan argues against four views that deny rights to animals: indirect duty, contractarianism, cruelty-kindness, and utilitarianism. Locate his account of each and explain his objections to it in the graphic organizer below:
Indirect Duty
(pg. # )
Contractarianism
(pg. # )
Cruelty-Kindness
(pg. # )
Utilitarianism
(pg. # )
2. Regan then argues for what he calls a “rights view,” which is, he claims, “rationally the most satisfactory moral theory.” Explain both his view and his claim.
3. What are the advantages of arguing for views that conflict with one’s own before arguing for one’s own? What are the disadvantages?
4. Regan includes among his goals “the total dissolution of commercial animal agriculture” and the “total
elimination of commercial and sport hunting and trapping.” Do these goals include vegetarianism? If so, why does he not use the word “vegetarian”?
