The Specter of Speciesism: Buddhist and Christian Views of Animals (American Academy of Religion Books) [Hardcover]

Paul Waldau (Author)

Book Description

Series: American Academy of Religion Books | Publication Date: December 6, 2001

This new study looks at how non-human animals have been viewed in the Buddhist and Christian religious traditions. The concept of speciesism, coined in 1970 as an analogy to racism and discussed almost exclusively within philosophical circles, is used to explore very basic questions about which animals, human or otherwise, were significant to early Buddhists and Christians. Drawing on scriptures and interpretive traditions in Christianity and Buddhism, Waldau argues that decisions about human ethical responsibilities in both religions are deeply rooted in ancient understandings of the place of humans in the world and our relationships with other animals in an integrated cosmos. His study offers scholars and others interested in the bases for ethical decisions new insights into Christian and Buddhist reasoning about animals as well as what each might have to offer to the current discussions about animal rights and environmental ethics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Anyone interested in ethical arguments on animal rights will find especially useful the sections that systematically assess the past thirty years of debates on the topic and will find the call to consider the reality of nonhuman animals' lives a thought-provoking challenge." --Journal of Religion

"This is a careful and detailed examination of Buddhist and Christian understandings of non-human animal life, going back to the canonical sources, and reaching the conclusion that, contrary to the opinion of many, both traditions have been equally 'speciesist'. Dr. Waldau's persuasive arguments will have to be taken into account by everyone concerned with this issue."-John Hick, Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Research in Arts and Social Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK

About the Author

Paul Waldau holds a doctorate in ethics from Oxford University, a law degree from UCLA, and a Master's Degree from Stanford University. He is currently Assistant Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, where he is on the faculty of the Center for Animals and Public Policy. He teaches courses entitled "Jurisprudence Ethics" and "The Human-Animal bond." He is also an adjunct faculty member at Boston College Law School and Harvard Law School, where he teaches animal law courses.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195145712
• ISBN-13: 978-0195145717
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,456,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Waldau is an educator-scholar-activist working at the intersection of animal studies, ethics, religion, law and cultural studies. He has been named Associate Professor at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and the principal faculty member for a new two-year on-line Master of Science program in Anthrozoology that begins in September 2011. The website for this new program is http://www.canisius.edu/anthrozoology/

A former trial lawyer and partner in a major California law firm, Paul left the practice of law to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy degree at University of Oxford. He then was a post-doctoral Senior Fellow at Harvard's Center for the Study of World Religion. Paul has since served four times as the Barker Lecturer in Animal Law at Harvard Law School, and will again do so in Spring 2012. He has also directed reading groups in animal law at Yale Law School. From 2004 through 2008 Paul was the Director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University School of Veterinary medicine. He is also the President of the Religion and Animals Institute, and teaches the course "Religion and Animals" at Harvard during the Summer Term.

Paul has completed five books. "The Specter of Speciesism: Buddhist and Christian Views of Animals" was published in 2001 by Oxford University Press. In 2006 Columbia University Press published "A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics", a major edited collection done in conjunction with Professor Kimberley Patton of Harvard Divinity School. In 2008 Paul co-edited "An Elephant in the Room: The Science and Well-being of Elephants in Captivity", which was published by Tufts University's Center for Animals and Public Policy. In December of 2010. Oxford University Press published "Animal Rights" in their "What Everyone Needs to Know" series--this is a discussion of the different meanings of the term "animal rights" and the deep roots of animal protection in the religious and cultural traditions around the world today. In 2011, the interdisciplinary discussion "The Animal Invitation: Religion, Law, Science and Ethics in a More-than-Human World" will be published (Columbia University Press currently has the manuscript). Paul is now working on his sixth book, an interdisciplinary survey of many academic disciplines to be published by Oxford University Press in 2011 under the title "Animal Studies-An Introduction."

More details are available at www.paulwaldau.com and www. religionandanimals.org

Customer Reviews

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Resource for Buddhist and Christian Animal Theologians, December 24, 2010

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Stephen M. Vantassel "Author Ecotheologian Wi... (Lincoln, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Specter of Speciesism: Buddhist and Christian Views of Animals (American Academy of Religion Books) (Hardcover)

The Specter of Speciesism is a revision of Waldau's dissertation submitted for his PhD at Oxford in 1997. As the title suggests, the book delves into the way Buddhism and Christianity view animals as revealed in the language of their religious documents. In particular, Waldau evaluates whether and to what extent these two religions participate in the alleged moral error know as speciesism. Speciesism, is the belief that human interests automatically trump the interests of "other" animals. Like racism, which is the belief that one race is automatically superior to another, speciesism is seen as improper because the grounds for the moral claim are not grounded in morally relevant concerns. Just as you wouldn't say that a red colored crowbar was "better" than a "green" colored crowbar if both performed their leveraging tasks equally, so it is said that humans do not have the moral right to proffer their interests as being more morally significant than those of animals without support from morally significant grounds.

Waldau goes to great length detailing how the arguments used to support human exceptionalism and speciesist attitudes towards animals fail in the quality and accuracy of their generalizations. For instance, when humans claim their intelligence and rationality give them the right to treat animals differently, Waldau explains that animals such as dolphins and whales also exhibit incredible intelligence. Other arguments such as social organization, language, and others are all show to be problematic.

Waldau is very careful with his language. He does not say that humans and animals (what he calls other animals) do not have significant differences. What he questions is whether and to what extent those differences justify different moral treatment simply because of a creature's membership in a particular species. I would highly recommend his discussion of the various nuances of speciesism to those interested in this concept.

The remainder of the book focuses on the views that Buddhism and Christianity have towards animals. Given the various factions contained in these religions, Waldau has a difficult task. He resolves the problem by analyzing their respective religious texts, arguing the Heideggarian view that language reflects worldview. Each religion is carefully analyzed with abundant references to primary texts. In the end, Waldau shows that both religions exhibit speciesist views, although the Buddhism's is seen as more animal friendly.

Evaluation

Waldau has performed a useful service for those interested in the subject of human-animal relations, particularly for those involved in Buddhist and Christian studies. As one who tired of hearing how caring Buddhism was toward other creatures, I was intrigued to learn that Buddhism is speciesist too.
I am grateful that Waldau demonstrated that Christianity was speciesist. I have long argued that the Christianity of Jesus teaches that humans are more significant than animals. I would go further and suggest that humans are not "animals" because only humans are created in the image of God (Gen 1). Waldau proves that when people read the Bible as written, they will come to conclusions similar to Evangelical Christians. To be clear, Waldau disagrees with the Biblical view. That is a different question. But on the issue of what Scripture teaches, I concur with Waldau's view as shown in my own book, Dominion over Wildlife? A Environmental-Theology of Human-Wildlife Relations (Wipf and Stock, 2009). What is regrettable is that Waldau demonstrated his own bias in his uncritical acceptance of scientism's view that humans are just one of the animals. Scripture clearly makes a different claim. Perhaps science will never be able to provide a "thing" which humans have and animals don't capable of justifying human use of animals. But that failure doesn't prove there isn't such a thing. It could simply be that the theory tells you what you can see. Since science doesn't accept the existence of spiritual entities, should one be surprised that scientist never find them? My point is that science is just as much a matter of "faith" as belief in religion.

In sum, Waldau's work is a worthy read. While I certainly disagree with his views regarding human-animal relations, he is careful with his claims and provides a mountain of material with which to interact. He academic tone encourages dialogue and reflection and all honest and open readers will benefit from engaging his thought.

Stephen M. Vantassel is a tutor at King's Evangelical Divinity School in Broadstairs, England. He specializes in environmental-ethics. Dominion over Wildlife?: An Environmental Theology of Human-Wildlife Relations