Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Robert Nozick and Animal Rights
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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper explores Nozick's theory of rights to see if it's adequate to explain animal rights. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVNozick.rtf
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their person and property as long as they dont harm others in the process. Since he was a libertarian, we want to see if he extended this idea to animals:
namely, that a person who "owns" an animal (a concept that should probably be explored in another paper) can do as he pleases with that animal. Well look as his
theory of rights to see if its adequate to deal with this question. Discussion Nozicks thinking on the issue, as expressed in his essay "Moral Constraints and Animals" is heavy
going and seems to be a series of question that he leaves unanswered, rather than posing a real solution to the question, can we treat animals as we please or
do they have rights we should respect? Nozick says in part that one position we might adopt is what he calls "utilitarianism for animals, Kantianism for people," a doctrine that
says we should: "(1) maximize the total happiness of all living beings; (2) place stringent side constraints on what one may do to human beings. Human beings may not be
used or sacrificed for the benefit of others; animals may be used or sacrificed for the benefit of other people or animals only if those benefits are greater than the
loss inflicted" (Nozick). This view tends to equate humans with animals and give equal rights to each (Nozick). But does your pet cat actually have the same rights as
you do? If not, what kind of rights does he have? What sort of things can be done to him before you feel his rights are being violated, if in
fact you agree he has rights to begin with? These are questions that Nozick considers but leaves largely unanswered, probably because they are unanswerable, or perhaps its better to say
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