DANIEL BRAGA LOURENÇO is a lawyer in Rio de Janeiro. He estudied at Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro – PUC/RJ, is a master in “Law, State and Citizenship” by Universidade Gama Filho- UGF/RJ, and post graduated in Environment Law by Fundação Getúlio Vargas – FGV/RJ.

Has a MBA in Economic Law also by Fundação Getúlio Vargas – FGV/RJ and a specialization in “Advanced Oil Law” by Clube do Petróleo/COPPE. He is a professor of Environment Law at Praetorium Courses (Rio de Janeiro) and Idéia (Niterói) and of Instituto Catarinense de Pós-Graduação – ICPG. He is a lawyer member of Animal Legal Defense Fund – ALDF and Law Director of Instituto Abolicionista Animal - IAA. Integrates the Publishing Council of Revista Pensata Animal. Published sereval articles on bioethics, environment law and animal rights and is author of Direito dos Animais: Fundamentação e Novas Perspectivas (Porto Alegre: Sergio Antonio Fabris, 2008, 566 p.).

Daniel Lourenço will present at 12o Festival Vegano Internacional the following issue:

And if we are just animals? The Moral Implications of Darwinism

In “And if we are just animals? The Moral Implications of Darwinism”, Daniel Lourenço provides a fresh perspective on the life and accomplishments of Charles Darwin, wich bicentennial is being celebrated in 2009 and whose thoughts and theories about the natural world hold true today – 150 years after the publication of his “On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection” (London, J. Murray, 1859). The evolutionary perspective calls into question the classic notions of human dignity and the sacredness of human life. The moral implications of darwinism are rich and raise questions about the moral status of non-human animals. What we need now is an ethic that does not discriminate between different species, one that addresses each being on an individual basis.