The status of animals in empathy-based contractualism

By Julia Schindlbauer

This thesis centres on the question of the moral status of animals, an examination of contractualist attempts to justify this status, and the presentation of a new form of contractualism on the basis of which animals can be accorded moral standing. An attempt is made to develop a form of contractualism based on human capacity for empathy. Empathy is considered from the perspective of evolutionary theory and examined in relation to morality. This is followed by a description of how the rational agents in the original state might be conceived within such a contractualist framework, and how they might arrive at their moral judgements.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 6630390806
• ISBN13: 9786630390803
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Our Knowledge Publishing
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"