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News

News: March/April 2012

Cetaceans “Should Have Rights” • Philosophers Think About Charity • Movies for Teaching Philosophy • Stubborn Brains • New journal LEAPs into existence • John Hick — News reports by Sue Roberts

Cetaceans “Should Have Rights”

At the American Association for Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver (16th-20th February) a group of scientists and philosophers presented papers to support a recent ‘Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans: Whales and Dolphins’. Lori Marino of Emory University reviewed the extensive scientific evidence for complex intelligence and self-awareness among dolphins, porpoises and whales. Thomas White, an ethicist from Loyola Marymount University, argued that cetaceans have distinctive cultures, societies and personalities, and so should be considered as ‘non-human persons’.

Philosophers Think About Charity

Several groups have sprung up recently promoting new approaches to altruism. These organisations mainly originated in the efforts of graduate students at Oxford University and have been inspired by the writings of moral philosophers such as Peter Singer.

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