Oscar Horta
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Óscar Horta Álvarez (born 7 May 1974) is a Spanish animal activist and
moral philosopher Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
who is currently a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Anthropology at the
University of Santiago de Compostela , established = , type = Public , budget = €228 million (2011) , rector = Prof. Dr. Antonio López Díaz , city = Santiago de Compostela , state = Galicia , country = Spain , undergrad = 23,835 , postgrad = 1,716 , doctoral = 2,697 ...
(USC) and one of the co-founders of the organization
Animal Ethics Animal ethics is a branch of ethics which examines human-animal relationships, the moral consideration of animals and how nonhuman animals ought to be treated. The subject matter includes animal rights, animal welfare, animal law, speciesism, ani ...
. He is known for his work in
animal ethics Animal ethics is a branch of ethics which examines human-animal relationships, the moral consideration of animals and how nonhuman animals ought to be treated. The subject matter includes animal rights, animal welfare, animal law, speciesism, ani ...
, especially around the problem of
wild animal suffering Wild animal suffering is the suffering experienced by nonhuman animals living outside of direct human control, due to harms such as disease, injury, parasitism, starvation and malnutrition, dehydration, weather conditions, natural disasters, an ...
. He has also worked on the concept of
speciesism Speciesism () is a term used in philosophy regarding the treatment of individuals of different species. The term has several different definitions within the relevant literature. A common element of most definitions is that speciesism involves t ...
and on the clarification of the arguments for the moral consideration of nonhuman animals. In 2022, Horta published his first book in English, ''Making a Stand for Animals''.


Education and career

Horta completed an undergraduate degree in philosophy at the
University of Santiago de Compostela , established = , type = Public , budget = €228 million (2011) , rector = Prof. Dr. Antonio López Díaz , city = Santiago de Compostela , state = Galicia , country = Spain , undergrad = 23,835 , postgrad = 1,716 , doctoral = 2,697 ...
(USC) in 1999, going on to complete a doctorate in philosophy at the same institution in 2007. His thesis was entitled ''Un desafío para la bioética: la cuestión del especismo'' ("A Challenge to Bioethics: The Issue of Speciesism"). In 2007, he won the Ferrater Mora Prize from the
Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics The Ferrater Mora Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics is an organisation based in Oxford which promotes animal ethics. History The centre was founded in Oxford in 2006 by Andrew Linzey, a member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxf ...
, for his essay on the ethics of Catalan philosopher
José Ferrater Mora José María Ferrater Mora ( ca, Josep Ferrater i Mora; 30 October 1912 – 30 January 1991) was a Spain, Spanish philosopher, essayist and writer. He is considered the most prominent Catalan philosopher of the 20th-century and was the author ...
. From 2005 to 2009, he was a lecturer in the Department of Logic and Moral Philosophy at USC. He subsequently took up a visiting researcher position at
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
from 2009 to 2010 and a research fellowship at the
Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
from 2009 to 2011. He returned to USC in 2011 as a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Anthropology, becoming a professor in 2018. Horta co-founded the animal advocacy organisation
Animal Ethics Animal ethics is a branch of ethics which examines human-animal relationships, the moral consideration of animals and how nonhuman animals ought to be treated. The subject matter includes animal rights, animal welfare, animal law, speciesism, ani ...
in 2012. He has also acted as an organiser and spokesperson for the spanish animal rights organisations Derechos para los Animales ("Rights for Animals") and Alternativa para la Liberación Animal ("Alternative for Animal Liberation"); these organisations later merged to form
Equanimal Equanimal was a Spanish non-profit animal rights organization, formed as a merger, in 2006, of the organisations Alternativa para la Liberación Animal ("Alternative for Animal Liberation"; founded in 1986) and Derechos para los Animales ("Rights ...
. Horta is a member of the advisory board for the
Sentience Institute The Sentience Institute (SI) is an American interdisciplinary think tank that specializes in effective altruism and social movement research. It was founded by Jacy Reese Anthis and Kelly Anthis in June 2017 and has published research reports o ...
, UPF-Centre for Animal Ethics, and Organisation for the Prevention of Intense Suffering. Horta published ''Making a Stand for Animals'', in 2022; his first English-language book.


Philosophical work


Speciesism

Horta has defined speciesism as discrimination against those who do not belong to one or more species, understanding by
discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
an unjustified unequal consideration or treatment. This is a
normative Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A norm in ...
account of the concept. According to Horta, if treating animals of different species in different ways is justified then it cannot be considered discriminatory and it is not an instance of speciesism. Horta's account also denies that speciesism is confined to discrimination on the basis of species alone. Horta's account regards as speciesist all forms of discrimination against those who are not members of a certain species regardless of whether the reason is mere species membership or other reasons (such as the possession of complex cognitive abilities). He has argued in favor of this position by analogy to sexism or racism, which typically include discrimination against women or racialized people based on criteria such as their alleged capacities (not only gender, sex, ancestry, or physical traits). Horta's account of speciesism is also similar to Joan Dunayer's but unlike Paul Waldau's in that he has also argued that discrimination against nonhuman animals is only one instance of speciesism, which can be referred to as
anthropocentric Anthropocentrism (; ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity in the universe. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. ...
speciesism, because it is also possible to discriminate against some nonhuman animals in comparison to others in ways that are speciesist.


Wild animal suffering

Horta argues that, contrary to an "idyllic" view of the wilderness, animals suffer significantly in nature from disease, predation, exposure, starvation, and other threats. Horta rejects speciesism, and thus argues that we have good reason to intervene in natural processes to protect animals from this suffering when it is possible to do so without causing more harm. Current ways of helping include rescues of animals during natural disasters, centres for orphaned, sick, and injured animals, and vaccination and feeding programs. Horta has claimed that such initiatives could be expanded, and that in order to avoid controversies with environmentalists opposing such initiatives, pilot programs could start by focusing on wild animals living in urban, suburban, or agricultural environments. He has also argued that the most promising courses of action right now may consist in gaining more knowledge about the conditions causing wild animal suffering and about how to best carry out measures that can improve the situation of animals affected by natural (or a combination of natural and indirectly anthropogenic) causes. Horta's work on wild animal suffering has been influential, with Jeff McMahan, whose work on wild animal suffering, "
The Meat Eaters "The Meat Eaters" is a 2010 essay by the American philosopher Jeff McMahan, published as an op-ed in ''The New York Times''. In the essay, McMahan asserts that humans have a moral obligation to stop eating meat and, in a conclusion considered to be ...
", appeared in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', attributing his interest in the question to Horta.


Personal life

Horta is
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
and has commented that "the reason why I decided to go vegan was that I was presented with what I saw as strong arguments to do so, not that I was feeling empathy towards nonhuman animals."


Selected works

Horta has published philosophical work in Spanish, Galician, Portuguese, English, Italian, French, and German. * *Horta, Oscar. Faria, Catia. 2019.
Welfare Biology
, in Fischer, Bob (ed.) ''The Routledge Handbook of Animal Ethics'', New York: Routledge, *Horta, Oscar. 2019. ''Na defensa dos animais'', Rianxo: Axóuxere Editora, . *Horta, Oscar. 2018. "Discrimination against vegans". '' Res Publica'' 24 (3): 359–73. . *Horta, Oscar. 2018. "Concern for wild animal suffering and environmental ethics: What are the limits of the disagreement?".
Les ateliers de l'éthique
' 13 (1):85–100. *Horta, Oscar. 2018.
Moral considerability and the argument from relevance
. ''
Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics The ''Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering agricultural science and bioethics. It was established in 1988 as the ''Journal of Agricultural Ethics'', obtaining its current name in ...
'' 31 (3): 369–88. . *Horta, Oscar. 2017.
Animal Suffering in Nature: The Case for Intervention
. ''
Environmental Ethics In environmental philosophy, environmental ethics is an established field of practical philosophy "which reconstructs the essential types of argumentation that can be made for protecting natural entities and the sustainable use of natural resourc ...
'' 39 (3): 261–279. . *Horta, Oscar. 2017.
Why the concept of moral status should be abandoned
. ''
Ethical Theory and Moral Practice ''Ethical Theory and Moral Practice'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of philosophy, established in 1998 and published five times a year by Springer Science+Business Media. It publishes articles in English, focusing on ethics and ...
'' 20 (4): 899–910. . *Horta, Oscar. 2017. ''Un paso adelante en defensa de los animales'', Madrid: Plaza y Valdés, . *Horta, Oscar. 2017. "Population Dynamics Meets Animal Ethics", in Garmendia, Gabriel & Woodhall, Andrew (eds.) ''Ethical and Political Approaches to Nonhuman Animal Issues: Towards an Undivided Future''. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 365–389. *Horta, Oscar. 2015. "Speziesismus", in Ferrari, Arianna & Petrus, Klaus (eds.) ''Lexikon der Mensch/Tier-Beziehungen'', Bielefeld: Transcript, 318–320. *Horta, Oscar. 2014.
The scope of the argument from species overlap
. ''
Journal of Applied Philosophy The ''Journal of Applied Philosophy'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Society for Applied Philosophy and edited by Elizabeth Brake (Rice University). It covers a broad spectrum of issues in all a ...
'' 31 (2): 142–54. . *Horta, Oscar. 2014. ''Una morale per tutti gli animali: al di là dell'ecologia'', Milano: Mimesis, . *Horta, Oscar. 2013.
''Zoopolis'', Intervention and the State of Nature
. ''Law, Ethics and Philosophy'' 1: 113–125. *Horta, Oscar. 2010. "The Ethics of the Ecology of Fear against the Nonspeciesist Paradigm: A Shift in the Aims of Intervention in Nature". ''
Between the Species ''Between the Species: A Journal for the Study of Philosophy and Animals'' (formerly ''Between the Species: A Journal of Ethics'' and ''Between the Species: An Online Journal for the Study of Philosophy and Animals'', also known as ''BTS'') is a p ...
'' 13 (10): 163–87. . *Horta, Oscar. 2010.
Debunking the idylic view of natural processes: Population dynamics and suffering in the wild
. ''Telos'' 17 (1): 73–88. *Horta, Oscar. 2010.
What is speciesism?
. ''
Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics The ''Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering agricultural science and bioethics. It was established in 1988 as the ''Journal of Agricultural Ethics'', obtaining its current name in ...
'' 23 (3): 243–66. .


See also

*
List of animal rights advocates Advocates of animal rights support the philosophy of animal rights. They believe that many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as in avoiding suff ...


References


External links


Ethics Beyond the Species
- Oscar Horta's personal blog


Profiles


Oscar Horta
at
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Oscar Horta
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Oscar Horta
at
PhilPapers PhilPapers is an interactive academic database of journal articles in philosophy. It is maintained by the Centre for Digital Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario, and as of 2022, it has "394,867 registered users, including the majorit ...


Interviews


Interview
with Christian Koeder
Interview
with
Animal Charity Evaluators Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), formerly known as Effective Animal Activism (EAA), is a US-based charity evaluator and effective altruism-focused nonprofit founded in 2012. ACE evaluates animal charities and compares the effectiveness of their ...

Interview
with ''Knowing Animals''
Interview
with ''ARZone'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Horta, Oscar 1974 births Living people 21st-century Spanish philosophers Animal ethicists Animal rights scholars Animal welfare scholars Moral philosophers People associated with effective altruism People from Vigo Spanish animal rights activists Spanish ethicists University of Santiago de Compostela alumni University of Santiago de Compostela faculty Veganism activists Organization founders