Abstract
Social justice in animals is beginning to attract interest in a broad range of academic disciplines.
Justice is an important area of study because it may help explain social dynamics among
individuals living in tightly-knit groups, as well as social interactions among individuals who only
occasionally meet. In this paper, we provide an overview of what is currently known about social justice in animals and offer
an agenda for further research. We provide working definitions of key terms, outline some central research questions, and
explore some of the challenges of studying social justice in animals, as well as the promise of the work we’re proposing.
Finally, we suggest why continued research into animal cognition and social behavior has significant ethical implications
for our treatment of nonhuman animals.
Justice is an important area of study because it may help explain social dynamics among
individuals living in tightly-knit groups, as well as social interactions among individuals who only
occasionally meet. In this paper, we provide an overview of what is currently known about social justice in animals and offer
an agenda for further research. We provide working definitions of key terms, outline some central research questions, and
explore some of the challenges of studying social justice in animals, as well as the promise of the work we’re proposing.
Finally, we suggest why continued research into animal cognition and social behavior has significant ethical implications
for our treatment of nonhuman animals.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-18
- DOI 10.1007/s11211-012-0154-y
- Authors
- Jessica Pierce, Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado Health Sciences, Denver, CO 80540, USA
- Marc Bekoff, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- Journal Social Justice Research
- Online ISSN 1573-6725
- Print ISSN 0885-7466