Research On Animal Rights

There are three phases that the development of animal rights theories has experienced, no duties against animals, indirect duties against animals and direct duties against animals. In traditional Christian conception and Descartes's mechanistic theory, animals are only the instrument to meet human's purpose, men haven't duties against animals. Modern contract theory (including simple contract theory and Rawls's contract theory) eliminate animals which couldn't make contracts from rights; the cruelty-kindness theory of Kant and Locke considers that though animals have only instrumental value because they are lack of reason, but tender feelings towards dumb animals develop humane feelings towards mankind. Our duties towards animals are merely indirect duties towards humanity. Bentham considers that the capacity of suffering as the key character of whether the creature should be taken into equal account as to the conclusion that mankind have direct duties to animals on the ground of utilitarianism; Peter Singer's animal liberation theory considers that animals should be taken into equal account of moral calculation because they can suffer according to the equal principle and utilitarian principle of utilitarianism; Tom Regan's animal rights theory substitutes subject-of-life for person of Kant, animals are also the subject of life and have inherent value, so they have the equal rights of attaining respect; Mary Warren's weak animal rights theory amends the strong animal rights theory of Tom Regan; Gary L. Francione's animal rights theory animadverts on the utilitarian animal rights theory of Bentham and Peter Singer.Animal rights are the rights that be entitled to animals through regulating...