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Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Animal Pleasure And Its Moral Significance, Jonathan Balcombe
Animal Pleasure And Its Moral Significance, Jonathan Balcombe
Jonathan Balcombe, PhD
This paper presents arguments for, and evidence in support of, the important role of pleasure in animals’ lives, and outlines its considerable significance to humankind’s relationship to other animals. In the realms of animal sentience, almost all scholarly discussion revolves around its negative aspects: pain, stress, distress, and suffering. By contrast, the positive aspects of sentience – rewards and pleasures – have been rarely broached by scientists. Yet, evolutionary principles predict that animals, like humans, are motivated to seek rewards, and not merely to avoid pain and suffering. Natural selection favours behaviours that enhance survival and procreation. In the conscious, …
The Applicability Of The Self-Fulfillment Account Of Welfare To Nonhuman Animals, Babies, And Mentally Disabled Humans, Tatjana Visak, Jonathan Balcombe
The Applicability Of The Self-Fulfillment Account Of Welfare To Nonhuman Animals, Babies, And Mentally Disabled Humans, Tatjana Visak, Jonathan Balcombe
Jonathan Balcombe, PhD
In this paper we will argue that generality is a virtue of Haybron’s account of welfare. Indeed, reflecting on the applicability of his theory to nonhuman animals will give us a better understanding of its applicability to humans. We will first focus on self-fulfillment and suggest an interpretation of Haybron’s account according to which the self-fulfillment of an individual consists in the fulfillment of the aspects of the self that are applicable to that particular individual. This makes Haybron’s account of welfare applicable to all sentient beings. Then we will focus on sub-personal nature-fulfillment and argue that the same interpretation …