Classification, community and sovereignty: Beyond the individualistic foundation of animals’ rights

Authors

  • Hernán Neira Universidad de Santiago de Chile

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/fsu.2016.173.03

Abstract

The debate about how to keep juridical relations with the barbarians in the political philosophy of Plato and Aristotle and, later, the post scholastic debate about Native Americans during the 16th century might become an inspiration for understanding that the main relation with animals is both an epistemological and a political option. Human beings classify the other living beings in order to keep a relation with them. It is possible to classify animals as members of social groups, even similar to states. An ius animalium which classifies animals as members of organized political societies might open the doors to a better relation with animals, even in case of conflict, surpassing the individualistic foundation of animal rights.

Keywords: zoophilosophy, juridical relations with animals, ius animalium, animal rights, Francisco de Vitoria.

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Author Biography

Hernán Neira, Universidad de Santiago de Chile

Hernán Neira is both a writer and a University Professor. Chilean, born in Lima (1960), he received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University in Santiago where he also directed Perspectivas, student magazine opposed to the dictatorship. From 1985 to 1992 he lived in Paris where he received his Doctorate in Philosophy at the Paris VIII University. He also studied sociology and linguistics at the l'École de hautes etudes in social sciences. He taught in France at the Institut d'études politiques (1991-1992), and in Chile in Universidad de La Serena (1984-1985) and in Universidad Austral (1993-2007), and has been invited to teach at the University of Chile, Diego Portales, Los Lagos, La Frontera and Santiago. Hernán Neira has algo given several conferences in Europe. Since 2008 he teaches philosophy in University of Santiago de Chile. In 2011 he was elected to the Academic Counsel of this university. His academic work is focused on political theory, literary theory and Latin-American culture. He has published scientific articles in Chile, the United States, Spain, the Netherlands and Cuba, and has received four times the support of the National Found for Science and Technology (Fondecyt).

 

Author of numerous books, he continues to be one of the most notable authors of the new generations. He has a distinguished voice that allows him to take on the genres of fiction as well as theory.

He has published one book of short-stories A golpes de hacha y fuego (By blows of axe and fire) (Editorial Planeta, Santiago, 1999) and two novels, El sueño inconcluso (The unconcluded dream) (Editorial Planeta, Santiago, 1999) and El naufragio de la luz (The shipwreck of the light) (Ediciones B, Barcelona, 2004). He has also published compilations of essays in El espejo del olvido (The mirror of forgetfulness) (Dolmen Ediciones, Santiago, 1997), and La ciudad y las palabras (The city and words) (Editorial Universitaria, Santiago, 2004). In addition, he has collaborated with the newspapers El Mercurio (Chile) and El País (Spain), and with the magazines Ecos de España y Latinoamérica (Germany) and Revista Atlántica (Portugal).

In 2003, with the novel El naufragio de la luz (The shipwreck of the light) he unanimously won the Dos Orillas award, given by five European publishing houses , that have translated his novel into French, Portuguese and Greek. All of which began circulation in 2005.

Published

2016-08-30

How to Cite

NEIRA, H. Classification, community and sovereignty: Beyond the individualistic foundation of animals’ rights. Filosofia Unisinos / Unisinos Journal of Philosophy, São Leopoldo, v. 17, n. 3, p. 271–282, 2016. DOI: 10.4013/fsu.2016.173.03. Disponível em: https://www.revistas.unisinos.br/index.php/filosofia/article/view/fsu.2016.173.03. Acesso em: 5 jun. 2025.