Duty and The Beast
The moral status of animals is a subject of controversy both within and beyond academic philosophy, especially regarding the question of whether and when 
it is ethical to eat meat. A commitment to animal rights and related notions of animal protection is often thought to entail a plant-based diet, but recent philosophical work challenges this view by arguing that, even if animals warrant a high degree of moral standing, we are permitted – or even obliged – to eat meat. Andy Lamey provides critical analysis of past and present dialogues surrounding animal rights, discussing topics including plant agriculture, animal cognition, and in vitro meat. He documents the trend toward a new kind of omnivorism that justifies meat-eating within a framework of animal protection, and evaluates for the first time which forms of this new omnivorism can be ethically justified, providing crucial guidance for philosophers as well as researchers in culture and agriculture.
Reviews of Duty and the Beast
“Provides us with a far better appreciation of the challenges to which vegetarians and vegans must respond. . . . Duty and the Beast is a very good book published at a very opportune time. Lamey’s expositions are pointed and detailed, and many of his suggestions are innovative and persuasive.”–Mark Bernstein, Journal of Animal Ethics
“A highly sophisticated, yet lucid and innovative, philosophical investigation on how non-human animals ought to be treated. Those who appreciate philosophical thought experiments and/or science-informed discussions on ethics will find Lamey’s work essential reading.”–Markku Oksanen, Environmental Values
“An important contribution worthy of close study.”–Christopher Bobier, Metapsychology Online Reviews
“Rigorously researched and argued.”–Margaret Betz, Choice Reviews
Frontier Justice
is a gripping, eye-opening exploration of the world-wide refugee crisis. Combining reporting, history and political philosophy, Andy Lamey sets out to explain the story behind the radical increase in the global number of asylum-seekers, and the effects of North America and Europe’s increasing unwillingness to admit them.
He follows the extraordinary efforts of a set of Yale law students who sued the U.S. government on behalf of a group of refugees imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay; he recounts one refugee family’s harrowing journey from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to contemporary Australia via the world’s most dangerous ocean crossing; and he explores the fascinating case of Ahmed Ressam, the so-called Millennium bomber who filed a refugee claim in Canada before attempting to blow up the Los Angeles airport. Lamey casts new light on a host of broader subjects, from the reasons why terrorists who pose as refugees have an overwhelming failure rate to the hidden benefits of multiculturalism.
Throughout Lamey’s account, he focuses on the rights of people in search of asylum, and how those rights are routinely violated. But Frontier Justice does not merely point out problems. This book offers a bold case for an original solution to the international asylum crisis, one which draws upon Canada’s unique approach to asylum-seekers. At the centre of the book is a new blueprint for how the rights of refugees might be enforced, and a vision of human rights that is ultimately optimistic and deeply affirmative.
In exploring one of the most pressing questions of our age, Lamey provides an absorbing and unsettling look at a world in which, as he notes, there are many rights for citizens, few for human beings.
Reviews of Frontier Justice
The Rights of Refugees by Doug Saunders – The Literary Review of Canada
The Globe and Mail on Frontier Justice
One of the best books of 2011
Fortress Australia alive and well in asylum-seeker debate
Frontier Justice in Top 20 Foreign Policy Books of 2011
Voice of reason on refugees
Powerful and Dramatic
Reconciling Rights and Sovereignty
The Canadian Mind: Essays on Writers and Thinkers
Andy Lamey emphasizes the need for good writing to uphold virtues beyond politics, and expresses concern about the tendency of nationalist critics to praise mediocre works simply because they are Canadian. Each chapter of the book focuses on a different Canadian writer, exploring the connections and lessons that can be drawn from their work. Lamey adopts a “minimalist nationalism” approach, examining the distinctiveness of Canadian literature and philosophy without seeking a unified national message or theme. He analyzes political philosophy, fiction, criticism, and history to shed light on important debates that have shaped Canadian life, emphasizing the intersections of literature and politics. Engaging with prominent figures like Margaret Atwood and Dany Laferrière, as well as the philosophers Will Kymlicka and Charles Taylor, The Canadian Mind reflects on cultural appropriation, academic freedom, and the ongoing nationalism versus liberalism debates in Canada, providing insights for future discussions.
Reviews of The Canadian Mind
Here’s a fun interview I did with Tara Henley for The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, in which we talked about the most provocative aspects of the book. A non-paywalled version is available on her Substack.
I also enjoyed talking with Sean Graham for What’s Old is New, a podcast at Activehistory.ca, a public history website, and with John Ackerman for CityNews, the online arm of 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver. A video of the latter conversation is here.
An excerpt in The Walrus (Toronto) discussed the philosophy of Will Kymlicka, and its influential role in fostering the spread of Canadian-style minority rights to countries around the world.
Another excerpt, discussing the novel The Orenda and the cultural appropriation controversy surrounding its author, Joseph Boyden, appeared in Quillette.
Reviews included one by historian Christopher Moore for History News, another by critic Steven Beattie for his literary blog, That Shakespearian Rag (paywalled), and one by writer Lydia Perovic for Long Play, her Substack (in which she threatens to throw a pie at me!).
WorldCat
Libraries with copies of my books available for loan in your area may be found at WorldCat.