Animal Hearts and Minds

Animal Liberation, 1st edition (1975).

In 1975, Australian philosopher Peter Singer consolidated the principles of a burgeoning animal rights movement into a controversial book titled Animal Liberation. In it, he argued against the concept of speciesism, the disadvantageous consideration or treatment of those who are not classified as belonging to a particular species - typically, those not belonging to the human species.

The notion of animal rights had been established in England some years before, through the work of a group of Oxford University philosophy students, who took a stand against the exploitation of animals on moral grounds. Singer, however, further argued that based simply on their ability to experience suffering, the welfare of animals deserved consideration, just as that of humans did.

Following Singer’s work was the pioneering research in animal cognition by Harvard zoologist Donald R. Griffin. Griffin’s findings proved that animals were conscious beings capable of higher order reasoning, a capacity previously thought to be restricted to humans. He helped to established the existence of the animal mind, a concept examined in his book, The Question of Animal Awareness (1976). Since that time, many organisms including some birds and at least one invertebrate, have been shown to possess a semblance of self-awareness.

Peter Singer. Photo by Tony Phillips

Mirror recognition by an animal is regarded as evidence of self-awareness.
Photo by fontoknak/Shutterstock.com