In his book The Limits of Morality, Shelly Kagan claims that contractarian approaches to ethics are incompatible with our common, everyday, "moderate" morality. In this thesis I defend a version of contractarianism that I believe leads to both deontological constraints and options; i.e., to a genuinely moderate morality. On my account, the parties to the agreement are conceived of as being motivated not only to promote self-interest, but also to formulate a code of ethics that gives proper respect to their moral status as persons. If such a picture of the bargainers' motivations is defensible, as I believe it is, then the 'moderate' may in fact have recourse to contractarianism in her defense of everyday morality, for - as my thesis argues - bargainers that are thus motivated will arrive at a moderate morality. / Master of Arts

Det blir alltmer vanligt med vegetarisk och vegansk kost i Sverige. Många väljer bort kött- och mejeriprodukter på grund av miljöaspekter men även för att främja djurens rättigheter. Mänskliga rättigheter är ett ämne som diskuteras bland annat i politiken, i skolan och på universiteten. Relationen mellan djurens rättigheter och mänskliga rättigheter diskuteras dock inte i lika hög grad, och hur vi ser den relationen varierarmellan olika personer. Jag tror att i princip ingen anser att andra arter än vi människor är moraliskt obetydliga men de allra flesta anser nog att vi människor är, i moralens ögon, viktigare. Hur relationen mellan människors och djurens rättigheterser ut har nog få funderat över i ingående detalj och med denna uppsats hoppas jag att vi kan få en tydligare bild av detta. / Vegetarian and vegan diets are becoming more common in Sweden. Many dismiss meat and dairy products due to environmental aspects and also in favor of animal rights. Human rights is a topic often discussed in politics, in school and at universities. The relationship between animal rights and human rights however are not discussed to the same extent, and how we envision that relationship varies greatly between different people. I believe that there are few who think that other species than humans are completely morally insignificant but the vast majority of people however probably believe that we humans are, in the eyes of morality, at least more important. I imagine there are few who have considered how the relationship between human and animal rights look in great detail and with this essay I hope that we can get a clearer picture of that relationship.

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