Well said, Tom Regan!

[red dog]

This is just part of "The Tom Regan Week," a week-long series of discussions with the renowned philosopher on topics including morality, rights, and which animals have rights and why. The whole series is well worth reading, but this segment was so eloquent and so relevant to recent discussions that I just had to post the link.

http://arzone.ning.com/forum/topics/the-tom-regan-week-on-rights

[red dog]

Here's a thought-provoking interview with Regan by an Australian activist who asks good questions. I don't necessarily agree with all Regan's conclusions (particularly about which animals have rights and which reforms are meaningful), but he makes some excellent points and I hope all animal advocates will read his work. I read his book "The Case for Animal Rights" many years ago, but not the books he mentions in this interview. I hope I'll get a chance soon.

I was also very surprised to learn that his famous quote was fabricated! It's been copied and pasted everywhere!

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/Interviews/AN%20AMERICAN%20PHILOSOPHER%20THE%20TOM%20REGAN%20 INTERVIEW.htm

[red dog]

A group of animal advocates from different countries discuss Regan's ideas in this podcast:

http://human-nonhuman.blogspot.com/2011/05/tom-tom-club-arzone-tom-regan-week.html

[Karen]

Thanks so much for sharing these links! I've only skimmed them so far, but I want to check them all out thoroughly.

I read (most of) The Animal Rights Debate (http://www.amazon.ca/Animal-Rights-Debate-Carl-Cohen/dp/0847696634), which is Tom Regan and Carl Cohen arguing for and against animal rights, respectively. I love books that present both sides of the case and found Regan really compelling. Can't wait to read more, thank you!

[red dog]

I haven't read the book he co-wrote with Cohen, but I agree it sounds like an important one to get to. The Case for Animal Rights is long and parts of it are a bit boring, but I appreciate the way Regan explores the basics of morality and why he disagrees with the moral theories of other philosophers.