Philosophy Research Seminar series
Conceptual Engineering for Animal Welfare
Abstract: Animal welfare is a concept that plays a central role in many moral, political, and scientific contexts. However, there is still little consensus on the best concept of animal welfare, with multiple competing conceptions used both within and across disciplines. To date, efforts to establish a welfare concept have used conceptual analysis to try and determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for welfare. However, I argue that the methods of conceptual engineering are preferable for deciding on the best concept of welfare, given the requirements and constraints of the roles animal welfare plays. Animal welfare is used in two primary roles – normative and scientific – each with their own set of desiderata. Here I show that a subjective concept of animal welfare (i.e. welfare consisting in the integrated positively and negatively valenced mental states of an animal) meets all the required desiderata. I also assess some of the most common competing concepts, showing how they fall short and should be considered instrumental, rather than intrinsic, components of welfare.