Overview

Today, human exceptionalism is the norm. Despite occasional nods to animal welfare, we prioritise humanity, often neglecting the welfare of a vast number of beings. As a result, we use hundreds of billions of vertebrates and trillions of invertebrates every year for a variety of purposes, often unnecessarily. Yet as the dominant species, humanity has a responsibility to ask: Which non-humans matter, how much do they matter and what do we owe them in a world reshaped by human activity and technology? In The Moral Circle, philosopher Jeff Sebo challenges us to include all potentially significant beings in our moral community, with transformative implications for our lives and societies. This book explores provocative case studies such as lawsuits over captive elephants and debates over factory-farmed insects, and compels us to consider future ethical quandaries, such as whether to send microbes to new planets and whether to create virtual worlds filled with digital minds. Taking an expansive view of human responsibility, Sebo argues that building a positive future requires the shedding of human exceptionalism and radically rethinking our place in the world. A Norton Short

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9781324123569

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Reviews

[A] workout for your brain, in the best sense: Sebo writes with great clarity, so you can follow the knottiest problems.--Michael Marshall ""New Scientist"" As Al grows ever more complex... Sebo's guidance will become all the more valuable.--Bryan Walsh ""Vox, Future Perfect 50"" Philosopher Sebo argues for an expansion of moral thinking to include animals, insects, plants, microbes, and even artificial intelligence... A thoughtful unsettling of moral certainty.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" The Moral Circle is a thoroughly digestible and wonderfully approachable example of popular philosophy at its very best, as curious as it is careful.-- ""Science Magazine"" Does what happen to an insect, a plant, or a robot, matter to them? Compelling thought experiments make The Moral Circle a fascinating read. Jeff Sebo's conclusion that we owe a lot to a vast number and wide range of beings will surely expand readers' empathy and compassion.--Barbara J. King, author of Animals' Best Friends and How Animals Grieve In The Moral Circle Jeff Sebo shows us how complicated--and disconcerting--things get when we consider what that moral circle would include--and whether we can really justify leaving any living thing outside the boundaries of our moral concern. Elephants, pretty easy. Bugs? Plants? Plankton? You will disagree with parts of this book, but your own disagreement will leave you feeling uncomfortable, because the moral arguments are indeed strong; they challenge the self-interests that have shaped the ways we have treated--and mistreated--other beings.--Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words and Alfie and Me In The Moral Circle, Jeff Sebo defends, with engaging examples and plausible arguments, a disturbing conclusion: that the expansion of the moral circle beyond our own species, for which I have argued, does not go nearly far enough. I expect this book to trigger an important debate.--Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation and Animal Liberation Now

""A riveting expansion of ethical concerns."" -- Marc Bekoff - Pyschology Today ""In The Moral Circle, Jeff Sebo defends, with engaging examples and plausible arguments, a disturbing conclusion: that the expansion of the moral circle beyond our own species, for which I have argued, does not go nearly far enough. I expect this book to trigger an important debate."" -- Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation and Animal Liberation Now ""[A] workout for your brain, in the best sense: Sebo writes with great clarity, so you can follow the knottiest problems."" -- Michael Marshall - New Scientist ""As Al grows ever more complex…Sebo’s guidance will become all the more valuable."" -- Bryan Walsh - Vox, Future Perfect 50 ""Sebo’s book is a pleasure to read. Never hectoring, it calls on readers to acknowledge their biases.…Its arguments have wide applicability."" -- Noel Castree - Conversation ""Does what happen to an insect, a plant, or a robot matter to them? Compelling thought experiments make The Moral Circle a fascinating read. Jeff Sebo’s conclusion that we owe a lot to a vast number and wide range of beings will surely expand readers’ empathy and compassion."" -- Barbara J. King, author of Animals' Best Friends and How Animals Grieve ""In The Moral Circle Jeff Sebo shows us how complicated and disconcerting things get when we consider what that moral circle would include and whether we can really justify leaving any living thing outside the boundaries of our moral concern. Elephants, pretty easy. Bugs? Plants? Plankton? You will disagree with parts of this book, but your own disagreement will leave you feeling uncomfortable, because the moral arguments are indeed strong; they challenge the self-interests that have shaped the ways we have treated and mistreated other beings."" -- Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words and Alfie and Me ""Philosopher Sebo argues for an expansion of moral thinking to include animals, insects, plants, microbes, and even artificial intelligence...A thoughtful unsettling of moral certainty."" -- Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Jeff Sebo is associate professor of environmental studies; affiliated professor of bioethics, medical ethics, philosophy, and law; director of the Center for Environmental and Animal Protection; and director of the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy at New York University.

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