When I first learned of NYU philosopher Jeff Sebo's new book The Moral Circle: Who Matters, What Matters, and Why, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it, and I am thrilled I did. In his eye-opening work, Jeff examines the moral status of nonhumans and makes the case for extending moral consideration to a vast number and wide range of beings in the spirit of caution and humility. Jeff also discusses different case studies related to captive and wild animal welfare. For example, he surveys the risks and harms of factory farming and argues that many of these risks and harms also apply to new kinds of factory farming, such as insect farming. Here's what Jeff had to say about his challenging and compelling new book that expands the biodiversity of protected groups of animals and other entities.

Marc Bekoff: Why did you write The Moral Circle?

Jeff Sebo: I wrote The Moral Circle to address a growing confusion over which beings count in our moral community. When I started working on the book in June 2022, two news stories broke that illustrated how unsettled our ideas about moral standing really are. One case was about whether Happy, the elephant, could have a legal right to bodily liberty, and the other was about whether LaMDA, the large language model, could experience happiness and suffering. These stories underscored the stakes of the questions, “Which beings matter, and what do we owe them?” I wanted to offer a framework that recognizes the importance and difficulty of these questions and that encourages us to improve our interactions with a vast number and wide range of beings in the spirit of caution and humility—while facing the challenges that arise when we try to put such an expansive ethic into practice.1

MB: Who do you hope to reach?

JS: This book is for anyone with basic curiosity about the moral circle—anyone who wants to learn about who belongs in our moral community and what rights........

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