Tom Regan's Seafaring Dog and (Un)Equal Inherent Worth

Tom Regan's seafaring dog that is justifiably thrown out of the lifeboat built for four to save the lives of four humans has been the topic of much discussion. Critics have argued in a variety of ways that this dog nips at Regan's achilles heel. Without reviewing previous discussions, with much of which I certainly agree, I wish to develop an unexplored approach to exposing the vulnerability of the position which Regan takes on sacrificing the dog to save the humans. I will argue that when dealing with the seafaring dog Regan abandons his own principles and that this is exactly what he should do. Regan should abandon his view that all subjectsof-a-life have equal inherent worth.