Abstract

LLORENTE, Renzo. Fernando Savater's Tauroética: A Critical Analysis. Diánoia [online]. 2012, vol.57, n.69, pp.171-184. ISSN 0185-2450.

In Tauroética Fernando Savater aims to offer a refutation of both the arguments used to condemn bullfighting on moral grounds and the reasons that are commonly cited to justify greater moral consideration for animals. Savater's attempted refutation rests on a number of distinct claims: human beings have no moral obligations toward animals; animals do not have interests; anti-bullfighting arguments illegitimately equate animals with human beings; those who condemn bullfighting maintain a contradictory moral position; and the prohibition of bullfighting would constitute an unjust curtailment of personal freedom. This essay provides a critical analysis of these claims and demonstrates that all of them are in fact untenable.

Keywords : bullfighting; animal rights; interests; liberties; moral obligations.