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Babies and Beasts
THE ARGUMENT FROM MARGINAL CASES
Daniel A. Dombrowski
University of Illinois Press, 1997
    
      Both its defenders and detractors
        have described the argument from marginal cases as the most important
        to date in defense of animal rights. Hotly debated among philosophers
        for some twenty years, the argument concludes that no morally relevant
        characteristic distinguishes human beings–including infants, the
        severely retarded, the comatose, and other "marginal cases"--from
        any other animals.
      Babies and Beasts presents
        the first book-length exploration of the broad range of views relating
        to the argument from marginal cases and sorts out and evaluates its various
        uses and abuses.
      Daniel Dombrowski analyzes
        the views of many who are prominent in the debate--
        Peter Singer, Thomas Regan, H. J. McCloskey, Jan Narveson, John Rawls,
        R. G. Frey, Peter Carruthers, Michael Leahy, Robert Nozick, and James
        Rachels are included--in a volume that will be essential to philosophers,
        animal rights activists, those who work in clinical settings, and others
        who must sometimes deal with "marginal cases."
 
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front cover of Contemporary Athletics and Ancient Greek Ideals
Contemporary Athletics and Ancient Greek Ideals
Daniel A. Dombrowski
University of Chicago Press, 2009

Despite their influence in our culture, sports inspire dramatically less philosophical consideration than such ostensibly weightier topics as religion, politics, or science. Arguing that athletic playfulness coexists with serious underpinnings, and that both demand more substantive attention, Daniel Dombrowski harnesses the insights of ancient Greek thinkers to illuminate contemporary athletics.

            Dombrowski contends that the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus shed important light on issues—such as the pursuit of excellence, the concept of play, and the power of accepting physical limitations while also improving one’s body—that remain just as relevant in our sports-obsessed age as they were in ancient Greece. Bringing these concepts to bear on contemporary concerns, Dombrowski considers such questions as whether athletic competition can be a moral substitute for war, whether it necessarily constitutes war by other means, and whether it encourages fascist tendencies or ethical virtue. The first volume to philosophically explore twenty-first-century sport in the context of its ancient predecessor, Contemporary Athletics and Ancient Greek Ideals reveals that their relationship has great and previously untapped potential to inform our understanding of human nature.

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front cover of The Global Guide to Animal Protection
The Global Guide to Animal Protection
Edited by Andrew Linzey
University of Illinois Press, 2013
Raising awareness of human indifference and cruelty toward animals, The Global Guide to Animal Protection includes more than 180 introductory articles that survey the extent of worldwide human exploitation of animals from a variety of perspectives. In addition to entries on often disturbing examples of human cruelty toward animals, the book provides inspiring accounts of attempts by courageous individuals--including Jane Goodall, Shirley McGreal, Birute Mary Galdikas, Richard D. Ryder, and Roger Fouts--to challenge and change exploitative practices.
 
As concern for animals and their welfare grows, this volume will be an indispensable aid to general readers, activists, scholars, and students interested in developing a keener awareness of cruelty to animals and considering avenues for reform. Also included is a special foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, urging readers to seek justice and protection for all creatures, humans and animals alike.

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