2014/03/01 by Sue Donaldson, Will Kymlicka · 34 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Agency (philosophy) #Altruism (biology) #Citizenship #Civility #Empathy #Environmental ethics #Epistemology #Geographies of human-animal interactions #Human-Animal Interaction Studies #Law #Political science #Politics #Psychology #Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment #Reciprocity (cultural anthropology) #Social psychology #Social science #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1017/s0008423914000195
published in Canadian Journal of Political Science 47(1), 23-45 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2014/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Abstract Many commentators—including some animal rights theorists—have argued that non-human animals cannot be seen as members of the demos because they lack the critical capacities for self-rule and moral agency which are required for citizenship. We argue that this worry is based on mistaken ideas about both citizenship, on the one hand, and animals, on the other. Citizenship requires self-restraint and responsiveness to shared norms, but these capacities should not be understood in an unduly intellectualized or idealized way. Recent studies of moral behaviour show that civil relations between citizens are largely grounded, not in rational reflection and assent to moral propositions but in intuitive, unreflective and habituated behaviours which are themselves rooted in a range of pro-social emotions (empathy, love) and dispositions (co-operation, altruism, reciprocity, conflict resolution). Fifty years of ethological research have demonstrated that many social animals—particularly domesticated animals—share the sorts of dispositions and capacities underlying everyday civility. Once we broaden our conception of citizenship to include a richer account of the bases of civic relations, it becomes clear that domesticated animals and humans can be co-creators of a shared moral and political world. We have nothing to fear, and much to gain, by welcoming their membership in the demos.