Political animality
Toivanen, J. (2024). Political animality. Southern Journal of Philosophy, Early View. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjp.12557
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Southern Journal of PhilosophyAuthors
Date
2024Copyright
© 2024 the Authors
This essay contributes to contemporary discussions concerning so-called animal politics by drawing from the history of the notion of political animal. Two different historical meanings of the notion are identified: (1) normative political animality that is intrinsically linked with rationality, language, and justice; (2) biological political animality that focuses on collaboration for the sake of a common aim. The former is applicable only to human beings, while the latter can also be used in relation to other animals. After briefly discussing the Aristotelian background of the notion, the essay argues that in medieval Aristotelian tradition, the normative meaning prevailed and the biological one was set aside. However, it is precisely the biological notion that appears useful today. The essay suggests several ways in which it might benefit contemporary theoretical discussions concerning animals, thus laying ground for further developments in animal politics.
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John Wiley & SonsISSN Search the Publication Forum
0038-4283Keywords
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https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/207416128
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Related funder(s)
Research Council of FinlandFunding program(s)
Academy Research Fellow, AoF; Academy Project, AoFAdditional information about funding
Academy of Finland, Grant/Award Number: 310490 and 331620License
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