I agree with you , Steve, that researchers are ignoring a large piece of reality when they imply that the differences between animals and humans are not qualitative but quantitative. Like you, I’ll start to take those assertions more seriously when animals start saying the same things about us.
But not everyone feels the same way. Cass Sunstein, for example, is the Harvard law professor who President Obama recently nominated to lead the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. In his 2004 book , Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions , Sunstein wrote that “animals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives . . . Any animals that are entitled to bring suit would be represented by (human) counsel, who would owe guardian-like obligations and make decisions, subject to those obligations, on their clients’ behalf.”
Apparently, Sunstein doesn’t think animals are intelligent enough to navigate our legal system on their own. But, then again, who is ?
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