Chimpanzee Rights: The Philosophers' Brief

The Nonhuman Rights Project has been petitioning the New York State courts to grant habeas corpus hearings for Kiko and Tommy, two captive chimpanzees, to determine if they should be recognized as legal persons with the fundamental right to bodily liberty. The courts have denied this request on the grounds that chimpanzees are not persons based on superficial and conflicting grounds. In Chimpanzee Rights: The Philosophers Brief, a group of renowned philosophers examines the four lines of reasoning the courts have used to deny chimpanzee personhood and argues that none of these grounds merit disqualifying chimpanzees from personhood. The authors conclude that when judges face the choice between seeing Kiko and Tommy as things and seeing them as persons, they should conclude that Kiko and Tommy are persons who should be protected from unlawful confinement. This brief is essential reading for anyone interested in animal rights, personhood, and the question of human and nonhuman nature.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 122 pages
\n Publication date: 04 September 2018
\n Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
\n

Since 2013, the Nonhuman Rights Project (NHP) has been petitioning the New York State courts to grant habeas corpus hearings to determine whether Kiko and Tommy, two captive chimpanzees, should be recognized as legal persons with the fundamental right to bodily liberty. While the courts have acknowledged that chimpanzees share emotional, behavioral, and cognitive similarities with humans, they have denied their personhood on superficial and sometimes conflicting grounds. Consequently, Kiko and Tommy remain confined as legal things with no rights. The central moral and legal question remains unanswered: are chimpanzees mere things, as the law currently sees them, or can they be persons possessing fundamental rights?

In "Chimpanzee Rights: The Philosophers Brief," a group of renowned philosophers delves into these profound questions. They meticulously examine the four lines of reasoning the courts have employed to deny chimpanzee personhood: species, contract, community, and capacities. The authors argue that none of these grounds justify disqualifying chimpanzees from personhood. Instead, they conclude that when judges face the choice between viewing Kiko and Tommy as things and viewing them as persons—the only options under current law—they should conclude that Kiko and Tommy are persons who should be protected from unlawful confinement in accordance with the highest philosophical standards of rational judgment and ethical standards of justice.

This extended version of the amicus brief submitted to the New York Court of Appeals in Kikos and Tommy's cases goes to the heart of fundamental issues concerning animal rights, personhood, and the question of human and nonhuman nature. It is essential reading for anyone interested in these critical topics and the ongoing debate surrounding the treatment of nonhuman animals.

\n Weight: 162g\n
Dimension: 198 x 178 x 9 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781138618664\n \n