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The question is not, "can they talk"?

G Namkoong1, T Regan

  • 1USDA Forest Service, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-7614.

The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
|May 1, 1988
PubMed
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This study challenges the idea that only humans deserve moral rights due to language. It argues that moral capacities can exist independently of linguistic abilities in nonhuman species.

Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Animal Ethics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • A common argument against nonhuman moral rights is that rights depend on linguistic capacity, which is uniquely human.
  • This perspective links moral standing directly to the ability to use and understand language.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically evaluate the argument that linguistic capability is a prerequisite for possessing moral rights.
  • To explore the independence of moral capacities from linguistic abilities in both human and nonhuman contexts.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of the relationship between language, cognition, and moral standing.
  • Examination of ontogenetic (developmental) and phylogenetic (evolutionary) independence of mental capacities.
  • Philosophical argumentation regarding the criteria for moral rights.
Keywords:
Analytical ApproachBiomedical and Behavioral ResearchPhilosophical Approach

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Main Results:

  • Linguistic abilities and other cognitive capacities are ontogenetically independent in humans.
  • Morally relevant mental capacities, such as interests and desires, can exist separately from language.
  • Phylogenetic independence of these capacities suggests that nonhumans could possess them.

Conclusions:

  • The inherent dependence of moral standing on linguistic capabilities is an insufficient basis for denying rights to nonhuman species.
  • Moral rights may be grounded in capacities other than language, which could be present in nonhumans.
  • This research opens avenues for reconsidering the moral status of animals based on broader cognitive criteria.