Animal Ethics

APRIL 19, 2016

"There is no longer dispute among serious scientists that humans aren’t the only animals who have the capacity to suffer physically and mentally. Elephants, great apes, orcas, dogs, cats, and many other animals can experience depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and compulsive disorders.

For Animals 40

For Animals Apes Psychology Suffering 40

Animal Ethics

JUNE 11, 2008

So far McCloskey is on solid ground, but one can quarrel with his denial that any animals but humans have interests. I should think that the trustee of funds willed to a dog or cat is more than a mere custodian of the animal he protects. The animal itself is the beneficiary of his dutiful services.

2004 40

2004 Animal Rights Rights Animal 40

Animal Ethics

JULY 8, 2012

A man who, without provocation, beats a dog into unconsciousness is actively cruel, whereas one who, through negligence, fails to feed his dog to the point where the dog's health is impoverished is passively cruel, not because of what he does but because of what he fails to do. Both active and passive cruelty have fuzzy borders.

Cruelty 40

Cruelty Los Angeles Suffering Inhumane 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 18, 2006

Currently, I am very interested in social and political philosophy and ethical issues. I felt a strong sense of connection to the ideas of Peter Singer while taking Ethics from Keith. Currently, I do not believe that killing an animal is prima facie morally wrong.

Factory Farm 40

Factory Farm Factory Farming Morals Factory 40

Animal Ethics

JANUARY 20, 2008

Causing an animal to suffer for no good reason is cruel, and our ordinary commonsense morality tells us in no uncertain terms that cruelty is wrong. A brief look at the public outcry concerning Michael Vick’s dog-fighting ring shows just how widely accepted premise (1) is. Animal abuse is a crime in all fifty states, and rightly so.

Vegetarian 40

Vegetarian Meat Ethics Lacto-Ovo 40

Animal Ethics

JANUARY 20, 2007

By abusing evolutionary biology in this way, we are able to read back the sophisticated conduct of people into the animal behavior that prefigures it. But this means that the apes appeal to animal-rights activists for precisely the wrong reason—namely, that they look like people and behave like people, while making no moral demands.

Animal 40

Animal Morals Apes Emotional 40

Animal Ethics

SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

The Argument from Human Grain Shortage All of the clearly moral arguments for vegetarianism given so far have been in terms of animal rights and suffering. Or the same number of meat-producing animals could be produced and fed the same amount of grain, but new markets could be found for meat and new needs created.

Vegetarian 40

Vegetarian Morals Meat Cattle 40