Forgotten Animals

Historically, animals have been forgotten or ignored by political philosophy. Sometimes, it has been assumed that moral questions about animals lack a political dimension. Other times, animals’ exclusion reflects apathy about their fates. Often, why animals are excluded is unclear. Recently, this quietism has been challenged by the ‘political turn’ in animal ethics, which explores how political ideas, institutions and policies affect animals, and how they might be transformed for their benefit. Animal ethics has become more mainstream in political philosophy and political philosophy more mainstream in academic conversations about animals.

The political turn has challenged the anthropocentric bias of political philosophy, forcing political theorists to notice nonhuman animals. But, while inroads have been made to extend political philosophy beyond humanity, the project of making animals visible has only just begun. As part of this project, this conference brings political philosophers and scholars from cognate areas together under the theme of forgotten animals. 

We propose to discuss topics including, but not limited to:

• Animals overlooked by scholars of animal politics. This might include invertebrate animals; marine animals; animals not yet born (or those long dead); or non-sentient animals.

• The exclusion of animals from established areas of inquiry, such as international political theory, the problems of political authority and legitimacy, relations of power, paternalism etc.

• Political traditions that have yet to fully grapple with questions of animal rights, including conservatism, libertarianism, communitarianism, and realism.

• Issues of philosophical method. What does inclusive animal politics look like? When are generalisations about animals problematic or even politically dangerous? How might we talk about ‘animals’ without denying the diversity and difference in the animal kingdom?

• Political philosophers whose work offers potential for inclusion in the political turn despite not directly addressing the animals issue, or whose work on animal politics has been neglected or overlooked.