Week 4 | Issue 1: Treatment of Animals - Contemporary Moral Problems (Course Guide)

Animal Liberation and Vegetarianism (Animal Ethics)

What place should non-human animals have in an acceptable moral system?

Key Question

Do animals deserve moral standing?

Key Terms

Speciesism
Utility
Sentientism
Factory-farms
Puppy-mills
Marginal cases

Key Philosophers

Jeremy Bentham
Immanuel Kant
Christine Korsgaard
Alistair Norcross
James Rachels
Roger Scruton
Peter Singer
Bonnie Steinbock
- For information on their views search "Name of Philosopher" and Animals

Treatment of Animals - Aristotle

Scala Naturae (Ladder of Life)

Fig. Charles Singer, "Ladder of Life (Scala Naturae)". A Short History of Biology.

Based on his careful observations, Aristotle devised a system of classification and a means of locating different organisms within it - Scala Naturae (Ladder of Life):

Progression from inanimate matter through to Man (and Woman)
Aristotle characterized all living organisms as having vegetative psyche (the power of growth and reproduction)
- animals having animal psyche (allowing sensitivity and the ability to move in response to stimuli); and
- humans having a rational psyche (that permitted reasoning).
- the whole spectrum of living things had different amounts of the psyches.

Source: Wotton, Roger. "Aristotle, Natural History and Evolution." Natural History, Creation and Religious Conflicts Blog

Uses of Animals

Image Source: How Many Animals Get Slaughtered Everyday?"
Author: Max Roser. Our World in Data. September 26, 2023 | Website

Watch the Video:

Check It Out

About Animal Testing
Humane Society International / Global. | Website
Animal Matters
Animal Matters™ | Website
Animal Testing
Britannica ProCon.org | Website

More Information

Virtue and Difference in Animal Ethics (OER)
Once recognized, moral questions concerning the treatment of animals present us with a deep dilemma: we view animals as extensions of our families and friends because of how similar they appear to us; and yet we also slaughter them for food, conduct painful experiments on them, and utilize them as simple material resources because of how different they appear.
Animals and Ethics 101 - Thinking Critically About Animal Rights (OER)
A second possible interpretation of the core questions of animal ethics is that they are about whether animals have “rights.” On this view, to ask whether various uses of animals are morally permissible or not is just to ask whether animals have rights or not. It is very common for these two notions to be equated, but they shouldn’t be, for a variety of reasons. | OER | LibreTexts
Eathing Animals (Ethics and Society OER)
In this chapter, the applied ethical issue of the moral acceptability of eating animals is considered; it remains to be seen what conclusions might be drawn to be either justify or condemn some aspects of our multi-faceted behavior and attitude towards animals.