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Personal Identity

Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)

(Work In Progress: output at 12/02/2026 19:49:26)

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Chapter Contents

  1. Abstract1
  2. Methodology2
  3. Introduction3
  4. Note Hierarchy4
  5. Main Text5
  6. Concluding Remarks6
  7. Links to Books / Papers to be Addressed7
  8. Works Read8
  9. Further Reading9
  10. References & Reading List

Abstract
  1. This Chapter describes what Animalism is, with an excursus on animals and organisms and their persistence.
  2. It puts forward the arguments in favour of animalism, those against being reserved for Chapter 810.
  3. It focuses on the account of Eric Olson, the primary contemporary exponent of Animalism.


Research Methodology

Chapter Introduction13
  1. As we saw in Chapter 0214, nothing is more obvious than that we are Human Animals15. The disadvantages of whole-hearted acceptance of this seemingly obvious fact – leading to ‘conversion’ to Animalism16 – are at least twofold:-
    1. Firstly, that it seems to demote human beings from their status of being made in the image of the God many – maybe most – people no longer really believe in. There are two responses to this: Either
      1. Deny that it does, or
      2. Accept this claim and agree that the differences between human beings and other animals are those of degree rather than kind.
    2. A second disadvantage is that accepting that we are human animals makes the prospects for post-mortem survival look bleak. This is addressed in Chapter 1117.
  2. So, while saying that we are human animals might seem to be the default position – and so the burden is on others to demonstrate that we are not – the historical situation places a burden on the Animalist to present the case for animalism with as much rigour as possible. Saying ‘it’s obvious’ isn’t enough.
  3. Firstly, it needs to be made clear what the claim that ‘we are animals’ – the Biological View18 – amounts to. The Animalist makes the claim that this is one of numerical identity. We’re not simply animals in the sense of having animal bodies, while ‘really’ being something else. Being members of the species Homo Sapiens19 is what we really are.
  4. So, our persistence criteria are Biological Criteria20, and the implications of this need to be spelled out.
  5. Despite the ‘obviousness’ of the Biological View, most contemporary philosophers are unconvinced, as was noted in the Chapter 121. I have a Note detailing just which Philosophers can be counted as Animalists22. Eric Olson23 was probably responsible for clarifying and popularising the position. I also have a Note on David Wiggins24, though his status as a card-carrying Animalist is doubted by some, including Olson.
  6. The Biological View is often referred to as the Organism View, so we need to consider what Organisms25 are, and – indeed – what Life26 is, including when it starts – Animation27. I’ve referenced my Note on Quantum Mechanics28 here as recent research has attempted to implicate it in the mechanism of life. We discuss life’s end – Death – in Chapter 1129.
  7. Recently, some philosophers have tried ascribing intentionality to Plants30, which I think is muddying the waters, just as is trying to include fish in the moral community.
  8. We need to consider Evolution31, especially as this is a major consideration in why we are animals. I also have Notes on Genetics32 and Origins33, which are connected to this subject and others.
  9. After all this ground-clearing, we need to consider Animals34 themselves – especially those at the higher end of the spectrum most closely related to Homo Sapiens in their abilities and potential moral considerability, leading on to Animal Rights35.
  10. Finally, we get down to the actual Arguments for Animalism36, of which Olson’s favourite is the Thinking Animal Argument37.


Note Hierarchy
  1. Animalism38
    1. Human Animals39
    2. Biological View41
    3. Biological Criterion42
    4. Animalists43
  2. Organisms47
    1. Life48
    2. Plants51
    3. Evolution52
  3. Animals55
    1. Animal Rights56
  4. Arguments for Animalism57
    1. Thinking Animal Argument58


Main Text
  1. Animalism59
    1. There are different interpretations of Animalism, which I need to compare and contrast. My preferred option is Olson60’s, namely, that animalism is the view that we are identical to human animals61 and that, since human animals62 don’t have any psychological properties essentially, neither do we.
    2. Olson is probably the best-known active Animalist63. His two books below need to be analysed in exhaustive detail.
      → "Olson (Eric) - The Human Animal - Personal Identity Without Psychology" and
      → "Olson (Eric) - What are We? A Study of Personal Ontology".
      Follow the above link for other animalists.
    3. Olson’s claim is not that there are no non-animal persons, but that human persons are essentially animals. Other animalists, such as Wiggins64, insist (or are said to insist, or used to insist) that the only persons are indeed human beings65, or are (maybe) other animals.
    4. I incline to agree with Olson on the topic of what we are66, but need to press hard with thought experiments67 to see why we can’t separate the two – that is, why we can’t separate where we go as persons68 from where we go as animals: our personhood can’t be pealed off from our animality and ported to some other infrastructure – or at least not while preserving our identity.
    5. There is a distinction between persons and human animals. Is the distinction empirical or conceptual? Why can’t I copy my consciousness69 onto a machine70 and that machine be me? There seem to be two issues here.
      1. Firstly, my intuition71 is that phenomenal consciousness essentially involves a brain-like infrastructure and
      2. Secondly, copying a consciousness onto a machine isn’t identity-preserving, even if possible, but is the creation of a simulacrum72 (or – significantly – multiples thereof).
    6. Basically, I reject both functionalism73 and the idea of consciousness “hopping from one infrastructure to another”. Incidentally, I rather hope we can’t copy our phenomenal consciousness onto a machine, or the possibility of hell on earth unfolds. The nasty business of very extended torment could be delegated to another machine that neither knows nor cares what it is doing.
    7. Also, should we consider fetuses74 and the senile or those in a PVS75 as persons? See Baker76 who alleges that those who have, will have or have had the capacity for a first-person perspective77 should be accounted persons. But is this simply arbitrary retrofitting of philosophy to Christian doctrine (though Wiggins78 seems to share this view; individuals are persons if typical individuals of their kind are persons)?
    8. I must also discuss animals79 under this head. If we are identical to (human) animals then to what, exactly, are we identical – that is, just what is a human animal – and that are their persistence conditions80? Note that there are disagreements about the referent of “animal” – is it the organism81 or the body82? The key issue is with corpses83. Feldman thinks they are animals, but Olson thinks they aren’t. Death84 is central to the enquiry. Just when does the person or animal commence85 or cease to be? If he is resuscitated (or resurrected86 / reincarnated87, assuming these to be possible) what happens in the interregnum88?
    9. As noted above and elsewhere89,90, I need to investigate the termini of human existence, and the issues they raise for the various views – the “fetus problem91” for the constitution view and the “corpse problem92” for animalism.
    1. Human Animals93
      1. I haven’t anything to say currently here other than what is covered in a bunch of related topics.
      2. However, as this is what I think answers the question What Are We?94, and is the plural of the title of "Olson (Eric) - The Human Animal - Personal Identity Without Psychology", it seems sensible to create this topic as one onto which detailed discussion may eventually be hived off.
      3. The main point – often re-iterated – is that we are Animals95, and while we are animals of a special kind96, there is no ontological97 difference – other than of degree – between our species98 and other animals.
      4. I note further that Baker99 might agree with this as far as it goes, but she thinks there is a major ontological difference when the human animal becomes a person100. I deny this, as will most animalists101.
    2. Biological View114
      1. The Biological View (BV) is that we are115 biological organisms116, and – in particular – have the persistence conditions117 of biological organisms. Since the organisms we are are obviously human animals118, this view is effectively just Animalism119.
      2. However, it is just possible that the BV and Animalism might part company for some philosophers. Maybe you might think that we are essentially animals, but can metamorphose120 from one species to another or be reincarnated121 as an individual of another species – or as a different individual of the same species. These might count as variants of the BV, but would not be Animalism122 as commonly understood, since it presupposes that we cease to be at death, and are essentially human animals123 and, indeed, essentially one and the same human animal.
      3. The BV is to be distinguished from older physicalist124 variants – in particular the “Body View125”.
      4. For the detailed principles of individuation and persistence criteria associated with the BV, see the Biological Criterion126.
    3. Biological Criterion127
      1. Biological Criteria are the criteria of identity128 associated with the biological view129 of what we130 human beings131 are.
      2. Animalism132 takes this biological view, that we are human animals133 (as distinct from persons134, or immaterial souls135). So, our persistence criteria are those of animals136.
      3. What should be discussed here is just what these criteria are.
      4. Biological identity criteria in general are slightly wider than those of animals in particular, as they include those for plants137 and other biological organisms138.
      5. Locke139 made the first stab at what this criterion might be. His view was that it was the participation in a single life140 that made an organism141 the same organism over time. The concept of a life is itself in need of explanation, and may not (in the absence of vitalism) be logically prior to the concept of an organism.
      6. It seems to me that the biological criterion could (theoretically, at least) allow for metamorphosis142 (provided that the metamorphosis143 is into another organism). There are, however, sortal144 objections to metamorphosis145.
      7. The jumping-off point for this topic is probably "Wilson (Jack) - Biological Individuality - The identity and Persistence of Living Entities". However, the book is at pains to point out that the persistence criteria for exemplars of particular species – and, indeed, their principles of individuation – differ greatly. Standard views are overly influenced by the assumption that all biological individuals are like large mammals rather than, say, strawberry plants146. However, as we are large mammals, I’m not too worried about this fine point.
      8. Note that the biological criterion is to be distinguished from the body criterion147, with which the psychological criterion148 was originally contrasted.
    4. Animalists149
      1. Who is an animalist depends on who you ask. Some are self-proclaimed, and others are claimed to be so by others.
      2. The following would definitely seem to be animalists:-
        1. Michael R. Ayers,
        2. Andrew M. Bailey,
        3. Stephan Blatti,
        4. William Carter,
        5. David Hershenov,
        6. David Mackie,
        7. Eric Olson,
        8. Paul Snowdon,
        9. Peter Van Inwagen, and150
        10. Richard Wollheim.
      3. In addition,
        1. David Wiggins, and
        2. Bernard Williams
        are sometimes claimed (I think by Stephan Blatti).
      4. Olson in "Olson (Eric) - What are We? A Study of Personal Ontology" has Carter, Ayers, van Inwagen and Snowdon; but also:-
        1. Joshua Hoffman and Gary Rosenkrantz, and
        2. Trenton Merricks.
      5. However, in "Olson (Eric) - Psychology and Personal Identity", Olson claims that – contrary to appearances – David Wiggins and Jay Rosenberg are supporters of the PV151.
      6. "Bailey (Andrew M.) - The Elimination Argument" agrees that Merricks and van Inwagen are animalists.
      7. "Johansson (Jens) - What is Animalism?" has Ayers, Carter, Mackie, Merricks, Olson, Snowdon, Van Inwagen, and Wiggins152, but also:-
        1. John McDowell, and
        2. Derek Parfit.
      8. It is likely that many atheist or agnostic philosophers who don’t specifically treat of personal identity are animalists. "Quinn (Philip L.) - Review of Antony Flew's 'The Logic of Mortality'" seems to describe Antony Flew as such, though Quinn doesn’t use the term “animalist”.
      9. "Bourget (David) & Chalmers (David) - The PhilPapers Surveys: What Do Philosophers Believe?" has a question on Personal Identity, and it seems that only just under 17% of faculty at elite philosophy departments are even inclined towards animalism, with just under 6% being convinced. No recognised Animalist appears to have responded to the survey (or at least allowed their opinions to be published). I did, however, spot that my former supervisor – Jennifer Hornsby – claimed to be an animalist, though I don’t think she’s written anything on the subject.
  2. Organisms168
    1. Organisms feature highly in animalist discussions of personal identity, in that according to animalism169, human persons170 are (numerically identical171 to) human animals172, which are organisms.
    2. According to some philosophers – for instance Peter Van Inwagen – sorites173 and multiple-occupancy174 arguments yield that the only things that exist175 are simples and organisms.
    3. Organisms are to be distinguished from their bodies176, which have different persistence conditions177, for example post-mortem as corpses178.
    4. An organism seeks to maintain itself against its environment, and exchanges matter179 with it. An organism possesses none of its matter essentially180, and may indeed replace all – or at least most of181 – its matter many times during its life182.
    5. When organisms ultimately fail in the above endeavour, they die183.
    6. Prior to this, they are alive184; organisms are the only things that may properly be said to be alive – life is a biological process185. Other things may exist186, and come to an end, but they do not literally live187 or die188.
    7. Normally, a proper part of an organism is not an organism. Presumably organelles – such as mitochondria – are (parasitic) organisms living within, and – collectively if not individually – essential189 parts190 of, other organisms.
    8. In particular, a brain191 is not an organism, but an organ. We are organisms, not organs, whatever psychological TEs192 might imply, so we are not our brains. See my remarks on Brains193, BIVs194 and Brain Transplants195 for discussion of whether we could survive as196 our brains in a worst-case scenario and whether our brains are ‘just another organ’ as Olson197 claims.
    9. The chapter on ‘Crowd Intelligence198’ in "Wohlleben (Peter) - The Inner Life of Animals: Surprising Observations of a Hidden World" suggests that ants and bees – while organisms in their own right – might be considered as cells in a Superorganism. Also, that there is such a thing as a ‘Hive Mind199’. This thought might also suggest that human (and other) Societies200 are Superorganisms. Finally, it relates to the thought that some organisms can be Scattered Objects201, that is if Superorganisms are themselves organisms.
    10. For all this, see:-
      → Wikipedia: Superorganism
      → Wikipedia: Collective intelligence
      → Wikipedia: Swarm intelligence
    11. See "Wilson (Jack) - Biological Individuality - The identity and Persistence of Living Entities" for a full discussion of the persistence202 of organisms, though this considers the generality. The book thinks that the general topic is too much swayed by considerations of large mammals, which – of course – is what we are, and the only organisms whose persistence conditions I care about in this research.
    1. Life203
      1. There are (at least) two sub-topics that fall under this topic:-
        1. Lives: Life as an (extended) event – the career of an individual.
          → See "Wollheim (Richard) - The Thread of Life"
        2. Life: Life as a biological process.
          → See "Wilson (Jack) - Biological Individuality - The identity and Persistence of Living Entities"
      2. I assume that lives can be had by individuals that do not have (biological) life, but think it unhelpful to talk of non-biological individuals as “alive”, except in a figurative sense.
      3. Life – and its correlate, death204 – is a biological process, on which the word of the biologist (maybe as clarified by the philosopher) is final.
      4. I’m open to the idea that alternative biologies – other than the carbon-based exemplar ubiquitous on earth – are possible – or at least conceivable. So, anything sufficiently complex that “can extract energy from its environment, grow, repair damage to its body, and reproduce” is alive (Elliott Sober). We wouldn’t want to deny that aliens are alive, nor – just maybe – sufficiently complex machines of the far future.
      5. I have a question on the “reproductive” requirement above. At most, this must apply to “typical representatives” – else the infertile would not be alive. But – important though reproduction is for evolution205 – I’m not sure why this is essential. Note that computer hardware is unlikely to reproduce – or at least it’s not necessary that it should, as it can be manufactured. However, computer programmes would be able to – this seems to be claimed of AIs, who are hoped to be able to produce improved versions of themselves.
      6. What I object is the notion that computer programmes are – or will eventually be – “alive” in the same sense as organisms are alive, though their hosting computers might be.
      7. I say this by analogy with my thoughts on the supposed consciousness206 of computer programs: computer programs can’t be conscious, though the hardware that runs them might be. However, I’m not sure the analogy works, as the “living” is said to be at the program level, and not to involve any physical changes to the computer (other than the usual changes to the contents of memory locations).
      8. So, "Tegmark (Max) - Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" has – as is indicated by the book’s title – three versions of life, but only Life 1.0 is ‘life’ in my sense; the others are – or impact on – ‘lives’:-
        1. Life 1.0: Biological Evolution207 – no hardware or software change within a lifetime.
        2. Life 2.0: Cultural Evolution208 – software, but not hardware, change within a lifetime. Learning.
        3. Life 3.0: Technological Evolution209 – potential for both software and hardware change within a lifetime.
      9. "Al-Khalili (Jim) & McFadden (Johnjoe) - Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology" has recently raised the question whether quantum phenomena210 are essential to life. This is not parallel with speculation on the association of quantum phenomena with Consciousness211 as it seems to be based on hard science – mechanisms – rather than ‘explaining’ one mystery with another.
      10. So, interesting philosophical questions about Life include:-
        1. Just what is (biological) life?
        2. When does biological life begin? This is presumably an empirical question, the answer to which will vary from species to species.
        3. Are there borderline cases of life?
        4. When does life cease? Again, the answer to this question will be species-dependent.
        5. Can life intermit212? Does it make sense to say that so-and-so died213 (on the operating table, say) and then revived?
      11. Interesting philosophical questions about Lives include:-
        1. How are lives individuated?
        2. What sort of things can have lives?
        3. How closely coupled is the life of a human organism214 with the life of a human person215?
        4. Can a life lived courtesy of a human organism be continued after the death216 of that organism?
      • Animation217
        1. “Animation” is an important matter. Just when does a particular life218 begin, and does it require any “vital force” or “infused soul219” (as the term implies)? Of course, the scientific answer to the latter question is that it doesn’t. However, such notions are central to many religious claims, though are not assumed by Christian Materialists220.
        2. We also need to consider:-
          1. Reanimation, and
          2. Suspended animation
        3. Both of these concepts are beloved of the Transhumanists221, at least those who are interested in the idea that their body222 or brain223 might be frozen until the time comes when it is possible for their reanimation.
        4. Suspended animation – in the form of cryoscopic suspension – appears as a TE224 in "Clark (Andy) & Kuhn (Robert Lawrence) - Aeon: Video - Andy Clark - Virtual immortality", to try to demonstrate that we are “patterns in information space225”.
      • Quantum Mechanics226
        1. Quantum Mechanics, per se, is very peripheral to my research concerns, but is connected – or alleged to be connected – to sub-topics that are slightly less peripheral.
        2. At a first guess, these include:-
          1. Consciousness227: either because – doubtfully – QM “explains” consciousness or – equally doubtfully, in my view – because “observers” are conscious and so consciousness is involved in the measuring process and the “collapse of the wave function”.
            • My view on the former has been that “explaining” one scarcely-understood phenomenon by another even-less-understood phenomenon has been a non-starter. Also, the mechanisms proposed have been very dubious.
            • My view on the latter is that the “observer” is any interfering macroscopic object, the record of which (eg. on a photographic plate) may or may not be viewed by a conscious observer, but has the record nonetheless.
          2. Life228: because QM may be involved – or necessary for – various life-processes and indeed the origin of life itself.
          3. Teletransportation229: Because of quantum entanglement.
          4. Transhumanism230: because of quantum computing and the impact this might have on superintelligence and AI generally.
        3. The Many Worlds Interpretation of QM is sometimes said to involve either a very profligate example of Fission231, or a spreading out of the “Quantum Self232” across all these worlds. This is discussed in "Ball (Philip) - Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Quantum Mechanics is ... Different", pp. 288-305, Chapter “There is no other ‘quantum’ you”.
    2. Plants233
      1. I’d never imagined having to say anything about Plants under the topic of Personal Identity. However, there appears to be a movement in biology and analytic philosophy to include plants in the category of organisms234 with minds235, on account of their ability to take advantage of their environment.
      2. I think this is absurd and is simply changing the meaning of “mind236”.
      3. A good place to start to consider the principles involved may be "Segundo-Ortin (Miguel), Etc - Plant Cognition - A Methodological Primer: Theories, Methods and Challenges".
    3. Evolution237
      1. One of the arguments for Animalism238, due to Stephan Blatti, is that from our evolutionary origins. If we’ve evolved from animals239, then it’s likely that’s what we are240. This requires careful consideration, because it would seem to provide the default view of what we are – but then so does common sense.
      2. Species evolve – both improving the characteristics of average exemplars of that species but also generating new species. So – prima facie – there’s no reason not to describe the emergence of human persons241 as “more of the same” from non-person hominids, ie. just tweaking their capacities – rather than as making an “ontological change” – as Baker242 argues.
      3. The persistence criteria243 for species also makes an interesting topic of research, as does deciding just what “species” are: for instance, are they concepts244 or universals245 or are they collections of concrete individuals246? Is the evolution of a new species a form of metamorphosis247?
      4. There will be some considerable overlap between this discussion and that on Homo Sapiens248.
      5. There’s also an overlap between speculations on the future of human evolution and Transhumanism249.
      6. Evolutionary Psychology has much to say (and much that is disputed) about what makes us tick – what makes us what we are250 in both a narrative251 and a metaphysical sense.
      7. There’s also the question of the evolution of consciousness252; when, why and how did it evolve?
      8. I might add a discussion of cultural evolution – see especially "Heyes (Cecilia M.) - Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking" – and how this has made us what we are253 by extending our cognitive capacities.
      • Origins254
        1. Our origins – just when “we” came into existence – are closely tied up with whatever “we” are255.
        2. So, an Animalist256 (who thinks that we are essentially animals257, rather than persons258, and for whom psychology259 is irrelevant to our identity) would insist that we come into existence earlier than would a supporter of the Psychological View260, or of the Constitution View261 (for whom a First-Person Perspective262 is definitive of our identity). Our psychology – and particularly a psychology rich enough to qualify us as persons263 – comes into existence fairly late on in our development.
        3. For modal264 reasons, endurantists265 can’t have “us” coming into existence before the possibility of twinning266 is past, though perdurantists267 don’t have this worry.
        4. I would also like to discuss Saul Kripke’s views on origins-essentialism.
          1. Metaphysically, I could not have been born other than from the particular egg-sperm combination from which I was born, and consequently
          2. Practically, I could not have been conceived other than at the time at which I was conceived.
        5. There are ethical ramifications in the context of abortion268 debates (and infanticide, for that matter), but I cannot pursue these in any detail.
      • Genetics269
        1. Genetics would seem to be a fairly peripheral topic as far as my thesis is concerned, though it is relevant insofar as some philosophers claim that we are identical to our genome, or that our genome is an essential Property270 of a Human Being271 (or any other Animal272 or Plant273 with a genome).
        2. As such, it has connections to What We Are274, our Origins275 and whether or not we are Information276.
        3. Of course, that we are NOT identical to our genome is proved by the fact of identical twinning277. Then there’s the question of gene editing which -we may assume – doesn’t cause us to lose our identities any more than transplant278 surgery does.
  3. Animals279
    1. According to the Animalists280, human animals are what we are281. Some philosophers, eg. Baker282, seem to think that describing us as animals is demeaning, but this seems to muddle together all the varieties of animal into one bestial bunch. Clearly, there are lots of differences between lug-worms and the great apes, and further – but much less significant – differences between the non-human great apes and ourselves.
    2. Several points need to be made here.
      1. Firstly, what all animals have in common is that they are organisms283 and have common persistence-conditions284 (PCs) in virtue of this fact; or at least large mammals like ourselves do. In particular, our – and their – psychology285 – however important to us286 – and them – is irrelevant to our persistence287, and hence, to our numerical identity (though not to our Narrative Identity288). The persistence of animals (and other organisms) is covered in detail in "Wilson (Jack) - Biological Individuality - The identity and Persistence of Living Entities".
      2. Secondly, the contentious point is whether aspects of the psychology289 of some higher animals are so distinctive that (as Baker claims) an ontological290 difference beyond the mere existence of a new species is in evidence. Baker thinks the watershed is a First Person Perspective291.
      3. Leading on from this is the claim that the FPP292 is so important, that we are not animals, but persons293.
    3. A question to consider, probably under the topic of organisms294, is whether the PCs of all organisms are the same. Plants295 and animals are both organisms.
    4. Non-animalists raise issues about the presumed supreme moral status and cognitive abilities of human beings296. Demonstrating that these abilities – however well or badly exemplified by humans as a species or as individuals – are on a continuum with those of the higher animals – in particular the great apes – rather than unique in kind to human beings – requires the researcher into personal identity to investigate just what the cognitive and moral capacities of animals actually are. This study is stimulated by Locke’s297 claim that personhood298 is a forensic property299.
    5. It is difficult to imagine what it is like to be a non-human animal. Partly, this is because of their differing sensory modalities. I’ve found "Yong (Ed) - An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us" particularly enlightening in this regard (much more that "Nagel (Thomas) - What is it Like to Be a Bat?").
    6. Another recent find worth pursuing is "Wandrey (Mona-Marie) & Halina (Marta) - The Evolution of Animal Consciousness", touching additionally – as it does – on the topics of Consciousness300 and Evolution301.
    1. Animal Rights302
      1. The motivation for including this topic – which is in its primarily ethical aspect largely tangential to my Thesis (which focuses on metaphysics) – is at least fivefold:-
        1. Firstly, as Locke noted, personal identity is a forensic303 matter.
        2. As I’m inclined towards animalism304, the status of other animals is relevant – in particular in resisting the claims of those (eg. Lynne Rudder Baker) that when a First Person Perspective305 comes into existence, we get a major ontological306 change.
        3. Some animal rights theorists – eg. Gary Francione in "Francione (Gary) - Animals as Persons: Essays on the Abolition of Animal Exploitation" – want to give (at least some) animals the legal and moral standing of persons307.
        4. Other contemporary philosophers – eg. Peter Carruthers in "Carruthers (Peter) - The Animals Issue: Moral Theory in Practice" – argue that animals have no rights at all.
        5. My view is somewhere in the middle. I’m not a fan of rights (in the absence of a contract) but think that human beings have duties to one another and to the higher animals in virtue of the others’ needs.
      2. A passage in the advertising blurb for "Calarco (Matthew) - Thinking Through Animals: Identity, Difference, Indistinction" is:-
        • The rapidly expanding field of critical animal studies now offers a myriad of theoretical and philosophical positions from which to choose.
        • It uses three rubrics — identity, difference, and indistinction — to differentiate three major paths of thought about animals.
          1. The identity approach aims to establish continuity among human beings and animals so as to grant animals equal access to the ethical and political community.
          2. The difference framework views the animal world as containing its own richly complex and differentiated modes of existence in order to allow for a more expansive ethical and political worldview.
          3. The indistinction approach argues that we should abandon the notion that humans are unique in order to explore new ways of conceiving human-animal relations.
        • Each approach is interrogated for its relative strengths and weaknesses, with specific emphasis placed on the kinds of transformational potential it contains.
      3. A fairly recent book that catalogues the atrocities and discusses the issues is "Ricard (Matthieu) - A Plea for the Animals: The Moral, Philosophical, and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion".
      4. Also deserving of a mention is "Rowlands (Mark) - The Philosopher and the Wolf" which contrasts supposed lupine virtues with simian vices. I’m not convinced.
  4. Arguments for Animalism308
    1. I’m not currently aware of many arguments in favour of Animalism309. Rather, Animalists argue that Animalism is – or ought to be – the default position, and try to pick off the arguments of those who have other positions on personal identity.
    2. The main argument – covered next - is Olson310’s Thinking Animal Argument311, which is both an argument for Animalism and intended as a refutation of the Constitution View312.
    3. However, there are others, and saying that ‘it’s just obvious’ that we are animals is insufficient, especially since most philosophers deny this ‘obvious’ fact.
    4. The only other argument I’m aware of (or can remember) is the “Animal Ancestors Argument” as given in "Blatti (Stephan) - A New Argument for Animalism", with an attempted rebuttal by "Gillett (Carl) - What you are and the evolution of organs, souls and superorganisms: a reply to Blatti".
    1. Thinking Animal Argument313
      1. This argument is otherwise known as the “too many minds” argument, the “too many thinkers” argument, or Olson314’s “master argument”. For many years, Olson has trotted out this argument at every opportunity.
      2. The basic idea is that a human animal315 thinks, and if it is not identical to the person316, then we have too many thinkers – the animal317 and the person318, unless we deny that one or other of them thinks, which is at the least very counter-intuitive.
      3. Additional to this metaphysical problem, we have – Olson says – an epistemological question. Which one are we? The animal or the person?
      4. While I’m inclined to accept animalism319, I think this argument fails, and it does the cause for animalism no good by having it as the main argument in its favour.
        1. This form of argument has been used by nihilists320 to argue that there are no ordinary things, usually invoking vagueness321 and fuzzy boundary considerations. Which of the many cats (give or take a few atoms) is the “real cat”? There’s no principled reason and I can’t know which. So there are no cats, or if there are, I can’t know which of the many cat-a-likes is the real cat. Since there are ordinary things, there must be something wrong with this argument form (though I don’t yet have a strong opinion as to just what it is).
        2. I accept Moore’s “two hands” argument – nothing is plainer than that I have two hands, so any metaphysical or epistemological theory that says I haven’t, or can’t know that I have, must have something wrong with it. I do know that there are arguments against the existence of hands and other “arbitrary undetached parts”, so maybe it’s safer to stick to cats. Olson (see "Marshall (Richard) & Olson (Eric) - Eric T. Olson: The Philosopher with No Hands"), as well as Peter Van Inwagen (eg. in "Van Inwagen (Peter) - The Doctrine of Arbitrary Undetached Parts"), argue against the existence of hands, though van Inwagen is happy with the existence of cats and other organisms, so I need to address their arguments head-on to determine the subtleties thereof.
        3. Baker322 and other supporters of the Constitution View323 have answers to the argument used as an argument against their view (along the lines of “thinking derivatively”).
        4. There are also resources like “Lewis counting”, as in perdurantism324 where a “soon to fission325” entity is really two entities sharing stages. Our language is fit for purpose.


Concluding Remarks
  1. Having discussed Animalism, we can now in our next Chapter326 turn to the main alternative I want to consider, the Constitution View and the arguments for it.
  2. This is work in progress327.


Links to Books / Papers to be Addressed328
  1. This section attempts to derive the readings lists automatically from those of the underlying Notes, but removing duplicated references. The list is divided into:-
  2. As this is a “core” chapter, the coverage of the literature will be very complete, if not exhaustive, when it comes to Animalism itself.
  3. For background topics, it will be more selective331.
  4. I’ve not been overly careful to segregate the reading-list of this Chapter from that of Chapter 8332. I will address the segregation in due course. There will, in any case, be some overlap.
  5. Many aspects of these papers will need to be either ignored or reserved for other chapters.


Works on this topic that I’ve actually read333, include the following:-
  1. Animalism
    1. Animalism334
    2. Human Animals340
    3. Biological View351
    4. Biological Criterion356
    5. Animalists
  2. Organisms
    1. Organisms392
    2. Life
    3. Plants397
    4. Evolution398
  3. Animals
    1. Animals407
    2. Animal Rights408
  4. Arguments for Animalism
    1. Arguments for Animalism412
    2. Thinking Animal Argument414

A further reading list might start with:-
  1. Animalism
    1. Animalism425
    2. Human Animals427
    3. Biological View429
    4. Biological Criterion431
    5. Animalists
  2. Organisms
    1. Organisms440
    2. Life
    3. Plants446
    4. Evolution447
  3. Animals
    1. Animals450
    2. Animal Rights452
  4. Arguments for Animalism
    1. Arguments for Animalism453
    2. Thinking Animal Argument454


In-Page Footnotes:

Footnote 13: Footnote 46: Footnote 64:
  1. I’m not clear on whether Wiggins is or is not an Animalist.
  2. "Ferner (Adam) - Metaphysics and biology: a critique of David Wiggins’ account of personal identity" has him as a Human Being Theorist.
Footnote 150:
  1. The evidence for this – by way of self-confession – is in "Van Inwagen (Peter) - Materialism and the Psychological-continuity Account of Personal Identity".
Footnote 152:
  1. David Wiggins is a difficult case, as is discussed at length in "Ferner (Adam) - Metaphysics and biology: a critique of David Wiggins’ account of personal identity".
  2. Wiggins has his own Note later.
Footnote 181:
  1. See "Frisen (Jonas), Etc. - Retrospective Birth Dating of Cells in Humans" for the argument that cerebral grey-matter retains its carbon atoms from infancy, and hence that neurons are as old as the individual. However, other cells are replaced – sometimes frequently.
Footnote 328: Footnote 331: Footnote 336: Footnotes 353, 369: Footnote 354: Footnotes 355, 358: Footnote 360: Footnote 373: Footnote 377: Footnote 379: Footnote 382: Footnote 402: Footnote 403: Footnote 409: Footnote 410: Footnote 411: Footnote 424: Footnote 430: Footnote 433: Footnote 437: Footnote 438: Footnote 442: Footnote 443: Footnote 451:

Table of the Previous 12 Versions of this Note: (of 16)

Date Length Title
14/02/2026 00:41:46 107446 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
06/07/2023 00:43:12 101349 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
28/09/2022 10:24:58 99767 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
11/05/2022 18:59:02 100551 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
07/05/2022 19:12:00 84259 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
11/04/2022 00:01:26 50315 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
01/10/2021 13:17:46 48245 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
29/03/2021 19:23:31 21893 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
22/03/2021 00:28:48 17313 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
08/02/2021 13:16:19 6946 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
18/04/2019 18:18:43 6920 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)
05/04/2016 23:19:41 6673 Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)


Note last updated Reading List for this Topic Parent Topic
02/03/2026 07:12:22 None available Thesis - Chapter 00 (Preface)

Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note

Abortion Animal Rights Animalism Animalism - Arguments For Animalism - Objections
Animalists Animals Animation Awaiting Attention (Personal Identity) Baker
Baker - Persons and Bodies - Precis Baker - Persons and Bodies - Response to Olson Baker - Review - Olson - What Are We? Baker - The Human Animal: Response to Olson Baker - The Importance Of Being a Person
Baker - What Am I? Biological Criterion Biological View Body Body Criterion
Brain Brain State Transfer Brain Transplants Brains in Vats Christian Materialism
Concepts Consciousness Constitution View Constitution View - Objections Continuity
Corpses Criteria of Identity Death DeGrazia - Are We Essentially Persons? Duplication
Endurantism Essentialism Evolution Existence Ferner - Metaphysics and biology: a critique of David Wiggins’ account of personal identity
Fetuses First-Person Perspective Fission Forensic Property Functionalism
Genetics Homo Sapiens Human Animals Human Beings Human Persons
Individual Information Intelligence Intermittent Objects Interregnum
Intuition Jen_080218 (Olson) Jen_080303 (Olson, Baillie) Jen_080317 (Baker) Kinds
Le Fanu - Doubts About Darwin Life Life After Death Locke Markosian - The Human Animal: Three Problems for Olson
Matter Mereology Metamorphosis Mind Modality
Narrative Identity Natural Kinds Nihilism Non-Human Persons Numerical Identity
Olson Olson - Immanent Causation and Life After Death Olson - Personal Identity - Oxford Bibliographies Online Olson - Persons and Bodies - Response Olson - Review of 'Persons: Human and Divine'
Olson - The Human Animal (Precis) Olson - The Human Animal: Reply to Baker Olson - The Human Animal: Reply to Markosian Olson - The Human Animal: Reply to Zimmerman Olson - What Are We?
Olson - What Are We? Animals Olson - What Are We? Brains Olson - What Are We? Bundles Olson - What Are We? Constitution Olson - What Are We? Nihilism
Olson - What Are We? Souls Olson - What Are We? Temporal Parts Olson - What Are We? The Question Olson - What Are We? What Now? Ontology
Organisms Origins Perdurantism Persistence Persistence Criteria
Persistent Vegetative State Person Phase Sortals Physicalism Plants
Problem of the Many Process Metaphysics Properties Psychological Criterion Psychological View
Psychology Quantum Mechanics Reincarnation Resurrection Scattered Objects
Self Snowdon - The Self and Personal Identity Society Sorites Sortals
Souls Status: Thesis Dashboard (2026: March) Sterelny & Griffiths - From Sociobiology to Evolutionary Psychology Substance Survival
Teletransportation Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It) Thesis - Chapter 07 (The Constitution View and Arguments for It) Thesis - Chapter 08 (Arguments against Animalism) Thesis - Chapter 09 (Arguments against the Constitution View)
Thesis - Method & Form Thesis - Personal Identity Thinking Animal Argument Thought Experiments Transhumanism
Transplants Twinning Universals Uploading Vagueness
What are We? What Matters Wiggins Williams - The Self and the Future Works Read - Explanation
Zimmerman - The Human Animal: Objections        

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Summary of Notes Citing This Note

Intuition Origins PID Note, Book & Paper Usage, 2 Status: Thesis Dashboard (2026: March), 2 Thesis - Chapter 00 (Preface)
Thesis - Chapter 02 (What are We?) Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time) Thesis - Chapter 08 (Arguments against Animalism), 2 Thesis - Chapter 09 (Arguments against the Constitution View), 2 Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments)
Thesis - Personal Identity, 2, 3 Thinking Animal Argument Website Generator Documentation - Functors, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23    

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Authors, Books & Papers Citing this Note

Author Title Medium Extra Links Read?
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Chapter 02 (What Are We?) Paper Medium Quality Abstract   Yes
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time) Paper Medium Quality Abstract   Yes
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Chapter 08 (Arguments against Animalism) Paper Medium Quality Abstract 2 Yes
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Chapter 09 (Arguments against the Constitution View) Paper Medium Quality Abstract 2 Yes
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments) Paper Medium Quality Abstract   Yes
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Intuition Paper Medium Quality Abstract   Yes
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Origins Paper Medium Quality Abstract   Yes
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Personal Identity Paper High Quality Abstract 2, 3 Yes
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Preface Paper Medium Quality Abstract   Yes
Todman (Theo) Thesis - Thinking Animal Argument Paper Medium Quality Abstract   Yes


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Feynman (Richard), Leighton (Robert B.) & Sands (Matthew) The Feynman Lectures on Physics - Vol III Book - Cited Feynman (Richard), Leighton (Robert B.) & Sands (Matthew) - The Feynman Lectures on Physics - Vol III No
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Williams (Bernard) Are Persons Bodies? Paper - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Williams - Problems of the Self (1970) Yes
Williams (Bernard) Bodily Continuity and Personal Identity Paper - Cited Low Quality Abstract Williams - Problems of the Self (Analysis XXI, 1960) Yes
Williams (Bernard) Persons, Character and Morality Paper - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Rorty (Amelie) - The Identities of Persons, 1976 Yes
Williams (Bernard) Problems of the Self Book - Cited (via Paper Cited) Low Quality Abstract Bibliographical details to be supplied 37%
Williams (Bernard) The Self and the Future Paper - Cited High Quality Abstract Williams - Problems of the Self Yes
Williamson (Timothy) The Necessity and Determinacy of Distinctness Paper - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Lovibond & Williams - Identity, Truth & Value: Essays for David Wiggins 27%
Wilson (Edward O.) The Diversity of Life Book - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Wilson (Edward O.) - The Diversity of Life No
Wilson (Jack) Biological Individuality - The identity and Persistence of Living Entities Book - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Wilson (Jack) - Biological Individuality - The identity and Persistence of Living Entities Yes
Wohlleben (Peter) The Inner Life of Animals: Surprising Observations of a Hidden World Book - Cited High Quality Abstract Wohlleben (Peter) - The Inner Life of Animals: Surprising Observations of a Hidden World Yes
Wollheim (Richard) Living Paper - Cited Wollheim - The Thread of Life, 1984, Chapter 1 Yes
Wollheim (Richard) The Thread of Life Book - Cited Low Quality Abstract Wollheim (Richard) - The Thread of Life 7%
Wrangham (Richard) Review of 'The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit' by Melvin Konner Paper - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Evolutionary Psychology – ISSN 1474-7049 – 2004. Volume 2. pp. 3-6 Yes
Yong (Ed) An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us Book - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Yong (Ed) - An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us Yes
Young (J.Z.) An Introduction to the Study of Man Book - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Young (J.Z.) - An Introduction to the Study of Man No
Yourgrau (Palle) Can the Dead Really Be Buried? Paper - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Midwest Studies In Philosophy, 2000, Vol. XXIV Issue 1, p46, 23p Yes
Zimmerman (Dean) Problems for Animalism Paper - Cited High Quality Abstract Abstracta Special Issue I – 2008 (Brazil) Yes


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