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Public health ethics and more-than-human solidarity

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  • Rock, Melanie J.
  • Degeling, Chris

Abstract

This article contributes to the literature on One Health and public health ethics by expanding the principle of solidarity. We conceptualise solidarity to encompass not only practices intended to assist other people, but also practices intended to assist non-human others, including animals, plants, or places. To illustrate how manifestations of humanist and more-than-human solidarity may selectively complement one another, or collide, recent responses to Hendra virus in Australia and Rabies virus in Canada serve as case examples. Given that caring relationships are foundational to health promotion, people's efforts to care for non-human others are highly relevant to public health, even when these efforts conflict with edicts issued in the name of public health. In its most optimistic explication, One Health aims to attain optimal health for humans, non-human animals and their shared environments. As a field, public health ethics needs to move beyond an exclusive preoccupation with humans, so as to account for moral complexity arising from people's diverse connections with places, plants, and non-human animals.

Suggested Citation

  • Rock, Melanie J. & Degeling, Chris, 2015. "Public health ethics and more-than-human solidarity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 61-67.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:129:y:2015:i:c:p:61-67
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.050
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rock, Melanie & Mykhalovskiy, Eric & Schlich, Thomas, 2007. "People, other animals and health knowledges: Towards a research agenda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(9), pages 1970-1976, May.
    2. Degeling, Chris & Kerridge, Ian, 2013. "Hendra in the news: Public policy meets public morality in times of zoonotic uncertainty," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 156-163.
    3. Rock, Melanie & Buntain, Bonnie J. & Hatfield, Jennifer M. & Hallgrímsson, Benedikt, 2009. "Animal-human connections, "one health," and the syndemic approach to prevention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 991-995, March.
    4. Cummins, Steven & Curtis, Sarah & Diez-Roux, Ana V. & Macintyre, Sally, 2007. "Understanding and representing 'place' in health research: A relational approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(9), pages 1825-1838, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rock, Melanie J. & Rault, Dawn & Degeling, Chris, 2017. "Dog-bites, rabies and One Health: Towards improved coordination in research, policy and practice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 126-133.
    2. Kim, Eun-Sung & Chung, Ji-Bum, 2021. "Korean mothers’ morality in the wake of COVID-19 contact-tracing surveillance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    3. Camille Bellet & Lindsay Hamilton & Jonathan Rushton, 2021. "Re-thinking public health: Towards a new scientific logic of routine animal health care in European industrial farming," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Elton, Sarah, 2021. "Relational health: Theorizing plants as health-supporting actors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    5. Esmonde, Katelyn & Jones, Jeff & Johns, Michaela & Hutler, Brian & Faden, Ruth & Barnhill, Anne, 2024. "“Lives versus livelihoods”: Conflict and coherence between policy objectives in the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    6. Samuel, Gabrielle & MacFarlane, Miranda & Briggs, Sarah, 2025. "Can care ethics help healthcare systems address their environmental harms? Findings from focus groups with members of the UK public," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 376(C).
    7. Davis, Alicia & Sharp, Jo, 2020. "Rethinking One Health: Emergent human, animal and environmental assemblages," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    8. Melanie Rock & Gwendolyn Blue, 2020. "Healthy publics as multi-species matters: solidarity with people’s pets in One Health promotion," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, December.

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