Awards

• Winner of <DIV><I>Choice</I> Outstanding Academic Title, 2006.</DIV> 2006

Overview

Beginning with our most cherished moral belief- that it is wrong to intentionally and gratuitously inflict harm upon the innocent- many of our most common practices involving animals stand in need of drastic revision. In Without a Tear Mark H. Bernstein begins with one of our most common and cherished moral beliefs: that it is wrong to intentionally and gratuitously inflict harm on the innocent. Over the course of the book, he shows how this apparently innocuous commitment requires that we drastically revise many of our most common practices involving nonhuman animals. Most people who write about our ethical obligations concerning animals base their arguments on emotional appeals or contentious philosophical assumptions. Bernstein, however, argues from reasons but carries little theoretical baggage. He considers the issues in a religious context, where he finds that Judaism in particular has the resources to ground moral obligations to animals. Without a Tear also makes novel use of feminist ethics to add to the case for drawing animals more closely into our ethical world. Bernstein details the realities of factory farms, animal-based research, and hunting fields, and contrasting these chilling facts with our moral imperatives clearly shows the need for fundamental changes to some of our most basic animal institutions. The tightly argued, provocative claims in Without a Tear will be an eye-opening experience for animal lovers, scholars, and people of good faith everywhere.

Full Product Details

9780252071980

Table of Contents

Reviews

Bernstein's book is a major contribution to contemporary philosophical discussions about the moral status of animals. It is elegantly and incisively written with a delightful lightness of touch. Most importantly, the case it advances is unanswerable. -- The Reverend Dr. Andrew Linzey, Oxford University, author of Animal Theology Bernstein's scholarship is excellent and he is scrupulously honest in his intellectual analysis. -- Priscilla Cohn, author of Ethics and Wildlife

"""Bernstein's book is a major contribution to contemporary philosophical discussions about the moral status of animals. It is elegantly and incisively written with a delightful lightness of touch. Most importantly, the case it advances is unanswerable."" -- The Reverend Dr. Andrew Linzey, Oxford University, author of Animal Theology ""Bernstein's scholarship is excellent and he is scrupulously honest in his intellectual analysis."" -- Priscilla Cohn, author of Ethics and Wildlife"

Author Information

Mark H. Bernstein is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the author of two books, On Moral Considerability: An Essay on Who Morally Matters and Fatalism.  

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