Blog – Rainer Ebert

Human Rights, Society, Travel

Authoritarianism by exhaustion: Trump’s new travel ban

Muslim Ban protest at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on January 28, 2017

Just a week after Donald Trump first took office as President, he signed Executive Order 13769 – his first travel ban. It halted refugee admissions and suspended entry into the U.S. for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. All of these countries have a Muslim majority. Because of that, and also because Trump had previously said that he intends to ban Muslims from the U.S., critics referred to the order as a “Muslim ban.” The backlash was immediate and broad, coming from Republicans and Democrats alike, as well as U.S. diplomats, business leaders, universities, faith groups, and international organizations such as the United Nations and Amnesty International. Protests erupted in airports and cities across the U.S. A friend and I – both of us immigrants to the U.S. ourselves – spontaneously drove to the international airport in Houston to express our outrage, along with hundreds of other protesters. I remember I felt hopeful. Surely, even people who didn’t come out to the airport would recoil once they learned what the order was actually doing to real human beings – for example, to the 78-year-old Iranian grandmother, certainly not a threat to national security, who came to the U.S. with a valid visa to visit her children, as she did every year. She was detained for 27 hours at LAX, denied access to lawyers, and fell ill before finally being allowed to enter the country.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy

Neues Buch: Die Philosophie der Tierrechte

ISBN: 979-8279348039

Tom Regan war einer der Begründer der Philosophie der Tierrechte. In seinem Text The Philosophy of Animal Rights, den ich hier neu ins Deutsche übersetzt habe, bietet er eine kompakte Zusammenfassung dieser Philosophie. Ausgangspunkt für Regans Argument ist die Tatsache, dass viele nichtmenschliche Tiere – ebenso wie Menschen – ein Leben haben, das für sie selbst von Bedeutung ist. Sie besitzen ein geistiges Innenleben, können Freude und Leid erfahren und haben daher einen Eigenwert, der unabhängig von ihrem Nutzen für den Menschen besteht.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy

Tom Regan: Die Philosophie der Tierrechte

Als Buch bestellen

Kiswahili (in Kürze)

Die Tierrechtsposition

Die Tiere, die von Menschen gegessen, in der Wissenschaft verwendet, gejagt, mit Fallen gefangen und auf vielerlei andere Weise ausgebeutet werden, haben ein eigenes Leben, das ihnen wichtig ist, unabhängig von ihrem Nutzen für uns. Sie existieren nicht nur in der Welt, sie sind sich der Welt bewusst. Was mit ihnen geschieht, ist für sie von Bedeutung. Jedes Tier hat ein Leben, das für das Tier selbst besser oder schlechter verlaufen kann.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy

The Philosophy of Animal Rights, by Dr. Tom Regan

Kiswahili (coming soon)

The Animal Rights Position

The other animals humans eat, use in science, hunt, trap, and exploit in a variety of ways, have a life of their own that is of importance to them apart from their utility to us. They are not only in the world, they are aware of it. What happens to them matters to them. Each has a life that fares better or worse for the one whose life it is.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy, Religion, Society

Conference proceedings published: Humans and Other Animals

In December 2024, Motlatsi Khosi, Kala Bopape, and I organized an international animal ethics conference, Humans and Other Animals: Rattling the Paradigm, with the aim of creating a space where students and early career practitioners, particularly from the Global South, could meet and explore the complex relationship between humans and other animals.

After the conclusion of the conference, the presenters were invited to work their presentations into publishable papers. The result is a special issue of the Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics, which has just been published and is available here. It contains the following articles, all of which are open access:

Continue reading →

Human Rights, Travel

Travel is a right, not a privilege, and the Global South is leading the way

For some, it’s as routine as paying at the checkout counter. For others, it’s as nerve-wracking as a prostate exam, and as undignified as being reprimanded in front of class. Which experience you have depends largely on one thing: where you were born.

We’re talking about international travel.

Continue reading →

From China to the world: The universal spirit of the Spring Festival

January 29, 2025 is the first day of a new year, the Year of the Snake, on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. People of Chinese heritage all over the world are immersed in the festive joy of Chinese New Year – or the Spring Festival, as it is more commonly known. Just in time for this year’s Spring Festival, UNESCO inscribed the festival on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. If you have ever seen the vibrant dragon and lion dances or wondered about the meaning behind the red envelopes handed out during this time, you have had a glimpse into the traditions of the Spring Festival. You may not know much about the details, but when it comes to family affection, the emotional core that defines the Spring Festival, you are surely no stranger.

Continue reading →

A hopeful 2025 begins with open ears and open hearts

Voltaire once wrote, “L’oreille est le chemin du cœur.” – The ear is the way to the heart. Few would argue against the importance of listening. Yet, in reality, we often respond passively, offering merely superficial acknowledgment, instead of truly listening. We would rather have others listen to us, and the rise of social media has made it easier to demand just that. As a result, the world has become noisier. Thoughts are expressed more readily, and shared more widely, yet people are feeling lonelier, and less connected. Whether it is the anxiety and uneasiness in one’s heart, the misunderstandings and estrangements among family and friends, or political conflicts, a lack of listening cannot escape sharing in the blame.

Continue reading →

Human Rights, Tanzania

Suluhu’s authoritarian grip tightens in Tanzania

When Samia Suluhu became President in 2021, there was real hope that Tanzania would move away from the oppressive authoritarianism of her predecessor, John Magufuli, and toward a more democratic style of governance. Three years later, little hope is left.

In just the last ten days, Tanzania’s democracy has suffered two serious blows. The first occurred in Dar es Salaam on September 23, when police were deployed in large numbers to prevent peaceful protests against killings and abductions of government critics, and opposition leaders, as well as journalists covering the protests, were arrested. The second blow came just hours ago from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), which suspended the online media services licenses previously issued to the country’s leading newspapers, The Citizen and Mwananchi. The reason for the suspension is an animated video published on October 1. It shows Suluhu watching citizens lament the disappearances of family members on TV.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy

ড. টম রেগান: প্রাণী-অধিকার দর্শন

Kiswahili (coming soon)

অন্য যেসব প্রাণীকে মানুষ খায়, বিজ্ঞানে ব্যবহার করে, শিকার করে, ফাঁদ পেতে ধরে এবং বিচিত্র উপায়ে শোষণ করে, আমাদের কাছে তাদের উপযোগিতা ছাড়াও তাদের একটি স্বকীয় জীবন রয়েছে যা তাদের কাছে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ। তারা যে শুধু পৃথিবীর মাঝে অস্তিত্বশীল তা-ই নয়, তারা এ ব্যাপারে অবগতও বটে। তাদের জীবনে যা ঘটে তা তাদের কাছে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ। প্রত্যেকের একটি জীবন আছে যা জীবনধারীর কাছে উৎকৃষ্টতর বা নিকৃষ্টতররূপে প্রতিভাত হতে পারে।

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy

Humans and Other Animals: Rattling the Paradigm

Two colleagues at the University of South Africa – Motlatsi Khosi and Kala Bopape – and I are organizing an international animal ethics conference for students and early career practitioners, which will be held online on December 17, 18, and 19, 2024.

The conference is organized around three themes:

Philosophy and Ethical Theory
Activism and Community-centered Approaches
Cultural Production, Art, and Performance

78 abstracts from numerous countries were submitted in response to our call for abstracts, out of which nine were selected for presentation. On each conference day, there will be three sessions of 45 minutes.

The conference language is English. Attendance is free, and anybody anywhere is welcome to join! If you would like to attend, please register using this form no later than Friday, December 13, 2024.

You can find the complete program on our conference website. For a PDF copy, please click here. A poster is available here.

Continue reading →

Bangladesh, Human Rights

Accountability or oppression with a vengeance?

Last week’s political violence was by far the worst since I first visited and fell in love with this country fifteen years ago. Some media outlets report 150 lives lost, others 170. Among those who lost their lives are children and young adults, noninvolved bystanders, and security personnel. Once the dust settles and a careful tabulation is done, the actual number of deaths could well be multiples of the numbers circulating at the moment. In addition, thousands were injured, many of whom have a long road of recovery ahead, and some of whom will never fully recover.

Continue reading →

Adelmannsfelden postcard

Sadly, postcards are not as popular anymore as they once were, which is why in many places they are increasingly hard to find. Postcrossing has been trying to revive the culture of sending postcards, with remarkable success, and there are communities of collectors across the globe.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy, Society

A personal choice?

When people are treated monstrously, we say they are “treated like animals.” This is because we treat animals monstrously. We mistreat and abuse them on farms, transport them in cramped and stressful conditions, torture them in laboratories, hunt them for sport, and use them for our entertainment in circuses and zoos. You know that, I know that, everyone knows that. And yet, the horror continues, and it continues on a scale that is truly mind-boggling.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy

In memory of Carl Cohen

I only now learned that American philosopher Carl Cohen passed away earlier this year, at the age of 92. He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Carl speaking at the University of Heidelberg on July 26, 2006

Carl speaking at the University of Heidelberg on July 26, 2006

I first met Carl in July 2006, when he spoke at a conference about the moral status of animals at the University of Heidelberg. Even though I thought he was dead wrong about animals, his passion for philosophical debate and his genuine appreciation of reasoned disagreement made a lasting impression on me, and shaped how I think about the nature and role of philosophy. He was a true champion of diversity of opinion and did not shy away from opinions that are unpopular. If that is where he thought the best arguments lead, that is where he went. He publicly and forcefully argued against affirmative action in college admissions, and for the right of neo-Nazis to march in Skokie, a Chicago suburb where a significant number of Holocaust survivors lived. Like Socrates and any philosopher worth their salt, he was a troublemaker.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Religion, Society

Western Hypocrisy and Muslim Whataboutism, as Every Year

In May 2020, when people were panic-buying toilet paper and supply chains were crumbling due to COVID-19, Iowa’s largest pork producer found itself with thousands of pigs that no longer had commercial value. Led by the logic of profit maximization, Iowa Select Farms decided that keeping the pigs alive was not worth the cost. The pigs had to die, and their deaths had to be fast and cheap.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy, Tanzania

Ukombozi wa Wanyama

Animal Liberation, a 1975 book by Australian philosopher Peter Singer, is widely considered one of the founding texts of the modern animal liberation movement. It develops a new ethics for our treatment of nonhuman animals, according to which their interests should be given the same consideration as the like interests of humans, and calls for an end to practices such as factory farming and animal testing. The book has had a lasting impact on generations of scholars and students and has influenced countless people in all corners of the world to adopt a vegan diet.

Almost half a century after its first publication, Animal Liberation is now finally available in Swahili! The book was translated by Deogratius Simba and published by Dar es Salaam-based publisher Mkuki na Nyota. It is available for purchase at the TPH Bookshop at 24 Samora Avenue in Dar es Salaam, and everywhere else where Mkuki na Nyota’s books are sold. The retail price is 30,000 TSh. If you are a student at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), you can find a copy of the book at the library of UDSM’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.

Continue reading →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy

Irresponsible scholarship

If the ultimate test of our humanity is how we treat nonhuman animals, then we are failing spectacularly. Earth is home to vastly more farm animals than wild mammals and birds, and almost all of them live in factory farms – where conditions vary from horrible to horrific – and die violently. The sheer numbers make our treatment of animals one of the most pressing moral issues of our time. You do not need to be an animal rights advocate to recognize this truth. If you believe that animals have any moral standing at all, that unlike stones they matter, at least a little bit, then the monstrous amount of gratuitous suffering we routinely inflict on animals should offend your moral sense. A Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans in fact are either somewhat or very concerned about the way in which the animals we raise for food are treated, and extend that concern to the animals used in entertainment and research as well.

Continue reading →

Human Rights, LGBT rights, Society, Tanzania

Mtu na Jinsia

Je, unajua tofauti kati ya utambulisho wa kijinsia, muonekano wa kijinsia, jinsia ki-anatomia, na mwelekeo wa kijinsi? Baadhi ya marafiki na mimi tumeunda kitini cha ukurasa mmoja, kulingana na Genderbread Person ya Sam Killermann, ambayo inafafanua dhana hizi kwa njia inayoweza kufikiwa na ya kuvutia. Ni zana nzuri ya kufundishia na njia nzuri ya kuanzisha mazungumzo muhimu, iwe shuleni, chuo kikuu, matukio ya kijumuiya, au warsha za utetezi. Ni bure kwa mtu yeyote kupakua na kutumia kwa madhumuni ya elimu, na kukuza uvumilivu, kuelewa, na kuthamini tofauti za binadamu.

Continue reading →

Human Rights, Society

Kupiga watoto sio sawa

Isipokuwa kama unajilinda mwenyewe au unamlinda mtu mwingine, kumpiga mtu ni shambulio, na shambulio ni kinyume cha sheria. Hakuna mjadala juu yake, na hakuna sababu nzuri sana kwa nini iwe hivyo. Watu wana haki ya kuheshimiwa. Kumpiga mtu sio tu husababisha maumivu ya mwili – ni udhalilishaji. Ndiyo maana ni nchi chache tu ambazo bado zinatumia mateso ya kimwili kama adhabu. Tunaposoma makala za habari kuhusu nchi zinazowapiga watu viboko kwa uharibifu wa kitu fulani au kuiba, wengi wetu hukwazika na kushangaa: “Ni unyama ulioje!” Tumechoka na kuchoshwa na vurugu. Ubinadamu umepitia mambo mabaya mengi sana, na imekuwa nadra sana kwa binadamu kufanya mambo mema. Vurugu inapaswa kuwa suluhu ya mwisho, na itumike tu inapobidi.

Continue reading →