Imagined Utopias: Animals Rights and the Moral Imagination

This paper explores why there has been little progress towards the achievement of animal rights. It claims that failures of the moral imagination hinder progress towards certain types of political ideals, of which justice for non-human animals is one. The paper argues that historical cultural norms about the treatment of non-human animals combine with difficulties in cultivating sympathetic dispositions with dissimilar beings to weaken moral motivation. In order to overcome these difficulties, the paper argues for a society that promotes imaginative thinking and cultivates sympathy whilst at the same time giving citizens the freedom to challenge established norms. The paper concludes that a society in which justice for non-human animals is most likely to be achieved will be a liberal society with a cosmopolitan outlook.