Living Like a Dog: Can the Life of Non-Human Animals Be Meaningful?



Hauskeller, M ORCID: 0000-0002-4452-4813
(2020) Living Like a Dog: Can the Life of Non-Human Animals Be Meaningful? Between the Species: an online journal for the study of philosophy and animals, 23 (1).

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Abstract

Most philosophers addressing the issue of meaning in life seem to think that non-human animals cannot have a meaningful life because only humans have what it takes to do so. In this paper, I discuss three prominent philosophical theories of meaning in life, all of which implicitly or explicitly deny non-human animals the possibility of living a meaningful life. I will argue that none of them is convincing and that we should embrace a more comprehensive and inclusive understanding of meaning in life that allows for non-human lives to be meaningful and in their own right worth living.

Item Type: Article
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 02 Oct 2019 08:04
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 00:25
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3056654