In Memory of Tom Regan

Abstract

Regan's challenge to give moral and legal recognition to animals seemed extreme to many people. It implies that the nonhuman animals are totally equal to the human animals, which is why many considered extreme the position of Regan. Regan's challenge continues today: if it is difficult to consider non-human animals as people before the law, what status should we attribute to them? Both bioethicists and legal philosophers continue to struggle with this problem. The most common solution is that we must recognize animals as sentient or sensitive beings, although no one knows exactly what the implications of this new category are. On the other hand, some philosophers have suggested that the issue of our obligations to animals is a political relationship and that we have to consider several categories of relationship depending on the history and cultural context of our relationships with them.