Putting Humans First: Why We Are Nature's Favorite (Studies in Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy)

Putting Humans First passionately argues for the primacy of human life in the natural world and the corresponding justice of humans making use of animals; it disputes the concept of "animal rights" and "animal liberation." It shows human beings to be very much a part of nature, though not, ordinarily, of the wilds. Given their nature, Machan argues that human beings not only can, but ought to use nature to serve their own needs.