Toward a Theory of Moral Status Inclusive of Nonhuman Animals: Pig Brains in a Vat, Cows versus Chickens, and Human-Nonhuman Chimeras

This chapter argues for a need for a theory of moral status that can help to provide solutions to practical problems in public policy that take account of the interests of diverse nonhuman animals. To illustrate this need, the chapter briefly describes two contemporary problems, one in science policy and one in food and climate policy. The first section provides a sketch of a way to think about a tiered or hierarchical theory of moral status that could be fit for such work. The second section considers in some depth the problem of human-nonhuman chimeras. This example is used to illustrate how a hierarchical theory of moral status should prove helpful in framing policy responses to this problem.