In Defense of (Some) Plant Rights

In this chapter, I present a novel argument defending the claim that certain, exceptional plants possess moral rights. First, I set the stage for developing an agent-centered, plant rights view, which grounds moral rights on the nature of practical reason rather than the natural properties of moral subjects. Then, I draw on the concept of the sublime from aesthetics to ground our duties of non-harm (and positive assistance) to exceptional plants. I discuss the importance of rights in a plant ethic because they are action-guiding for us in how we treat plants, which is what matters most to plants. I also note the importance of plant rights as boundaries on the self-obsessive end of ever increasing human preference satisfaction. Finally, I concede that the scope of plant rights must be limited because of the pressure that rights extensionism in the non-human sphere places on the possibility of human freedom for self-determination.