subjects-of-a-life

Compiled with AI assistance and selectively reviewed. Please consult the cited passages; the books remain the authoritative source. About this companion

Editorial synthesis · provisional

Definition

Subjects-of-a-life names Regan’s account of beings whose lives have a perspective, continuity and welfare of their own, independently of their usefulness to others. At least some animals possess beliefs, desires, memory and a sense of their future. In this account, their equal inherent value grounds basic moral rights that cannot simply be exchanged for aggregate benefit.

Explanation

AB introduces the phrase as Regan’s contribution to animal ethics and preserves that attribution in its thinker register. It contrasts a life with its own perspective and future with an object available solely for human use. The entry therefore records an attributed philosophical position, not an empirical certification of every animal’s capacities.

RB3 makes the contrast with Singer explicit. Singer asks that suffering receive equal consideration; Regan refuses to treat animal subjects as mere receptacles of experiences whose interests can be aggregated away. The account joins inherent value to rights rather than simply adding another preference to a calculation.

The author subsequently questions qualifying-property admission and the margins it creates, while sharing the humane conclusion. AB’s note qualifies the reach of this criticism. The regime alternative should consequently remain a separate treatment, rather than being silently inserted into Regan’s definition.

Scope and attribution

Preserve the attributed main-entry proposal; selected PB, RB1 and RB2 passages provide context without a direct independent definition.

AB — The Actual Book

Regan’s perspective-and-future account is introduced and registered by name.

Occurrence locators: 184, 185; Thinker register: 231; Notes: 248.

RB3 — The Real Book, Volume III: Murmurations

Inherent value and basic rights are developed in explicit contrast with utilitarian consideration.

Occurrence locators: 236.