ABSTRACT
Contractarianism derives the essence of morality from the idea of an agreement that specifies the moral principles that are to apply between the parties to the notional contract. Contractualism, on the other hand, is based on the equal moral status of persons' capacity for rational autonomous agency, and argues that morality consists in what would result if binding agreements were made from a position that respects their equal moral importance as rational, autonomous agents. The chapter describes the leading social contract theory of John Rawls, and explores how it, and similar models, might be applied to animals.
