Animals

							                        Animal Rights

   Broad View - Animals have the same moral worth that humans have, and the
    moral obligations we have to animals are the same that we have to humans.

   Narrow View - Animals have no moral worth, and we have no moral obligations
    to them.

   Moderate View - Animals have moral worth, but it is less than the moral worth
    that humans have. We have moral obligations to animals, but these obligations
    are weaker than the obligations we have to humans.

   Animal View - Animals have moral worth, but it is more than the moral worth
    that humans have. We have moral obligations to animals, and these
    obligations are stronger than the obligations we have to humans.
                       Narrow View

                    R. D. Guthrie's Argument

1. How animals treat other animals is not a moral issue.
2. How animals treat humans is not a moral issue.
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.: 3. How humans treat animals is not (inherently) a
    moral issue.
.: 4. Animals have no moral worth, and we have no
    moral obligations to them.
                 R. D. Guthrie

    Mistreating animals can still be morally wrong
    because:

   Animals can be the property of person's who
    do have moral worth.

   Animals can be instrumentally valuable in
    promoting human welfare.
                    R. D. Guthrie

                         Limitations

   Implies that it is morally permissible to mistreat
    unowned animals that are not instrumental in
    promoting human welfare.

   Implies that it is morally permissible for animal
    owners to mistreat their own animals that are not
    instrumental in promoting human welfare.
                       R. D. Guthrie


1. How animals treat other animals is not a moral issue.
2. How animals treat people is not a moral issue.
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.: 3. How people treat animals is not (inherently) a
    moral issue.
.: 4. Animals have no moral worth, and we have no
    moral obligations to them.
                       R. D. Guthrie

                              Objection

1. How infants treat other infants is not a moral issue.
2. How infants treat other humans is not a moral issue.
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.: 3. How humans treat infants is not (inherently) a
    moral issue.
.: 4. Infants have no moral worth, and we have no
    moral obligations to them.
                    Narrow View

                   Human Argument

1. Moral worth is a function of being human.
2. Only humans are human.
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.: 3. Only humans have moral worth.
.: 4. Animals have no moral worth, and we have
   no moral obligations to them.
Moral Worth Is a Function of Being
             Human
Moral Worth Is a Function of Being
             Human
Moral Worth Is a Function of Being
             Human
Moral Worth Is a Function of Being
             Human
             Peter Singer


"Pain and suffering are bad and should be
prevented or minimized, irrespective of the
race, sex or species of the being that
suffers....Pains of the same intensity and
duration are equally bad, whether felt by
humans or animals."
                    Peter Singer

•   Racism - Favoring the interests of one being over
    another solely on the basis of a difference in race.

•   Sexism - Favoring the interests of one being over
    another solely on the basis of a difference in sex.

•   Speciesism - Favoring the interests of one being
    over another solely on the basis of a difference in
    species.
               Human Argument

                        Limitations

•   Implies speciesism.

•   Implies that "higher" beings, such as God, angels,
    and Martians, have no moral worth.

•   Implies that it is morally permissible to abuse or
    torture animals for the mere fun of it.
                         Moderate View

                              Capacities Argument

1. Moral worth is a function of a being's capacity for intelligence,
    rationality, self awareness, suffering, and moral reasoning.
2. Some animals have these capacities but humans have these
    capacities to a greater extent.
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.: 3. Some animals have moral worth, but it is less than the moral
    worth that humans have.
.: 4. We have moral obligations to some animals, but these
    obligations are weaker than the obligations we have to humans
              Capacities Argument
                             Advantages

•   Does not imply speciesism.

•   Does not imply that "higher" beings, such as God, angels, and
    Martians, have no moral worth.

•   Does not imply that it is morally permissible to abuse or torture
    animals for the mere fun of it.

•   Does not imply that we should be morally indifferent between
    driving over a mouse and driving over a child.
Moral Worth
Moral Worth

       What is morally special
       about a being's
       capacity for
       intelligence, rationality,
       self awareness,
       suffering, and moral
       reasoning rather than
       its leaping ability,
       sense of smell, and
       capacity to bark?
Moral Worth
Moral Worth
Moral Worth
Moral Worth
                 Capacities Argument

1. Moral worth is a function of a being's capacity for intelligence,
    rationality, self awareness, suffering, and moral reasoning.
2. Some animals have these capacities but humans have these
    capacities to a greater extent.
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.: 3. Some animals have moral worth, but it is less than the moral
    worth that humans have.
.: 4. We have moral obligations to some animals, but these
    obligations are weaker than the obligations we have to humans.
               Capacities Argument

                              Limitations

•   It is not clear why moral worth should be a function of a being's
    capacity for intelligence, rationality, self awareness, suffering,
    and moral reasoning, as opposed to some other set of
    characteristics.

•   If moral worth is a function of a being's capacity for intelligence,
    rationality, self awareness, suffering, and moral reasoning, not
    all humans have these characteristics to a greater extent in
    comparison to all other animals.
            Moderate View


Animals have moral worth, but it is less than
the moral worth that humans have. We have
moral obligations to animals, but these
obligations are weaker than the obligations
we have to humans.
                     Moderate View

                              Objection

1. The Moderate View is correct only if there is a set of
     characteristics that all humans have to a greater
     degree in relation to all other animals.
2. There is no set of characteristics that all humans
     have to a greater degree in relation to all other
     animals.
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.: 3. The Moderate View is not correct.
                    Animal Rights

   Broad View - Animals have the same moral worth that humans
    have, and the moral obligations we have to animals are the
    same that we have to humans.

   Narrow View - Animals have no moral worth, and we have no
    moral obligations to them.

   Moderate View - Animals have moral worth, but it is less than
    the moral worth that humans have. We have moral obligations
    to animals, but these obligations are weaker than the
    obligations we have to humans.
           Animal Rights


What is the moral status of (nonhuman)
animals and what moral obligations do we
have to them?
            Animal Rights


Any plausible account of the characteristics
that determine moral worth will have the
consequence that some but not all humans
have these characteristics to a greater extent
in comparison to some animals.
      Moderate Animal View


Some humans have greater moral worth
compared to some animals, and some
animals have greater moral worth compared
to some humans. In some cases the moral
obligations we have to some animals is
weaker than the moral obligations we have to
some humans, and in some cases the moral
obligations are greater.
Animal Rights
Animal Rights
Animal Rights