Welcome to

DAVID SZTYBEL'S SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY
and
ANIMAL RIGHTS DOMAIN



Dr. Sztybel's Selected Writings On-Line:

Academic || Popular || Blog || Acts of God



Philosophy is a precious thing because it enables us to perform "reality checks" like nothing else. "Philosophy" derives from the Greek philo (love) and sophia (wisdom) yielding the idea: the love of wisdom. The ancient Greeks contrasted philosophy, which emphasizes justifying one's views rationally as much as possible, with philodoxa, or love of opinions (doxa) in which case the person merely spouts different views without adequate concern for justification.


"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."


William James



People often enjoin us to "do our best." At our most inspired, and when the smokescreen of our excuses is at minimum, the best is what we aim for. But does not the best entail "the most good and the least bad"? Do we do anything like our best when it comes to nonhuman animals? Most people, I argue, do not even come close. However, animal rights as a thorough-going way of life may approach this standard. If people in general do not always put their best foot forward with other humans, most people at least try to treat others with respect or common decency. Perhaps the bedrock of respect is non-violence. Ordinary animal treatment is very far from non-violent. Indeed, apart from such a standard of decency, cruelty to animals in agriculture, laboratory research, on the traplines, and more is at an all-time high and is alarmingly widespread. Its shocking details, suppressed by enormous corporate interests, are largely unknown to the general public. What can we do about these realities which are a part of speciesism, a phenomenon which is comparable to racism and sexism? We can check our prejudices at the door and re-think and re-feel how we treat animals. Then we can begin to make choices and changes that are, I argue, the animals' just due.



"If [humanity] is to survive, we shall require a substantially new manner of thinking."

Albert Einstein

There are chiefly two domains to be found on this site: one for people who prefer to read plain English, and another for those who would not mind getting their scholarly feet wet. May you find the time you invest in investigating this site personally rewarding, and may it also benefit anyone to whom you may be linked by invisible forces of oppression (e.g., through commerce in animal products). Peace be with you.



"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does."


Margaret Mead




ONE-LINE ON-LINE FAQ:

Q: How do you pronounce "Sztybel"? A: "Stigh-bell." The "y" sound rhymes with "sky."


Click here to read a scholarly essay which summarizes my animal ethics views, "The Rights of Animal Persons," published in the Fall 2006 issue of The Animal Liberation Philosophy and Policy Journal

Click here to read my "MIRROR PRODUCTIONS" version of "The Rights of Animal Persons" for those who have "academophobia" or other concerns: it is much shorter, with even plainer language, simplified arguments and it has no endnotes.

Click here to read a scholarly essay that makes a case for "welfarist" legislation as acceptable enough in the short-term in terms of effectiveness and ethics. Published in 2007 in the Journal for Critical Animal Studies.

Click here to read my "MIRROR PRODUCTIONS" version of "Animal Rights Law."

Click here to read my interview with Claudette Vaughan of The Abolitionist Online magazine, February 2008 edition, focussing on "The Rights of Animal Persons" article.

Click here to read my all-time favourite speech, by Dr. Tom Regan

Click here for Dr. Sztybel's FAVORITE LINKS
Send a message to David Sztybel by clicking here or by writing to sztybeld@post.queensu.ca. I read all questions or comments with interest and try to return all messages. Have a wonderful day!


David Sztybel, Ph.D. is a Fellow with the

The intention of the Fellowship program, in the words of the Centre’s Director, Oxford Professor Andrew Linzey, “is to select the most able and creative minds in the field” of animal ethics. The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics “is an international academy dedicated to the enhancement of the ethical status of animals through research, teaching, and publication. It is a ‘think tank’ for the advancement of progressive thought, with the aim of putting animals on the intellectual agenda. It seeks to be a world class centre of academic excellence. It is the first centre of its kind in the world.” Linzey writes: “Normally, Fellows will be academics with a university affiliation, but independent researchers with a strong record of publication…will also be considered for appointment.” The Centre is going to host a series of international conferences, create The Journal of Animal Ethics, publish a line of monographs on animal ethics, create an Oxford Animal Archive of papers in the field, start a resource centre, facilitate an internet fellowship for experts in the field, and offer courses and consultancies on animal ethics. Linzey himself is the world's first appointed Professor of Animal Ethics as of 2006, and no doubt this heralds the beginning of a growing world-wide trend in academia as animals are given the attention they deserve and that students demand.

DR. SZTYBEL'S WRITINGS:
 Academic || Popular || Blog || Acts of God