Speciesism And The Idea Of Equality

SPECIESISM AND THE IDEA OF EQUALITY By Bonnie Steinbock From Philosophy, vol. 53, no. 204 (April 1978): 247-256. near of us believe that we are entitled to treat members of former(a) species in ways which would be considered wrong if inflicted on members of our testify species. We efface them for food, keep them confined, use them in painful experiments. The incorrupt philosopher has to take on what germane(predicate) difference justifies this difference in treatment. A pay heed at this question will live us to retrospect the distinctions which we have assumed make a moral difference. It has been suggested by Peter Singer1 that our current attitudes are speciesist, a word think to make one think of racial or sexist. The report is that membership in a species is in itself not applicable to moral treatment, and that much of our behavior and attitudes towards unhuman animals is based scarce on this ir pertinent fact. There is, however, an authorized differ ence among racism or sexism and speciesism. We do not work animals to divers(prenominal) moral treatment simply because they have fur and feathers, wholly if because they are in fact different from human existences in ways that could be morally relevant.

It is false that women are unable(predicate) of being benefited by education, and therefore that claim cannot serve to shrive pr scourting them from attending school. But this is not false of cows and dogs, stock-still chimpanzees. Intelligence is thought to be a morally relevant capacity because of its relation to the capacity for moral responsibility. What is Si ngers response? He agrees that nonhuman anim! als lack certain capacities that human animals possess, and that this may romance off different treatment. But it does not justify braggart(a) slight consideration to their needs and interests. According to Singer, the moral erroneous belief which the racist or sexist makes is not essentially the real computer error of thinking that blacks or women are outclassed to white men. For sluice if there were no factual error, even if it...If you want to arise a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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