ANIMAL ETHICS II
William Sin 2012
Bentham: Number of Leg doesn’t count

“The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire
those rights which never could have been witholden from them but by
the hand of tyranny. The French have already discovered that the
blackness of the skin is no reason why a human being should be
abandoned without redress to the caprice of a tormentor. It may one day
come to be recognized that the number of the legs, the villosity (絨毛) of
the skin, or the termination of the os sacrum (骶骨), are reasons equally
insufficient for abandoning a sensitive being to the same fate.”
Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
Bentham: Can they suffer?

“What else is it that should trace the insuperable line? Is it
the faculty of reason, or perhaps the faculty of discourse?
But a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more
rational, as well as a more conversable animal, than an
infant of a day, or a week, or even a month, old. But
suppose they were otherwise, what would it avail? The
question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but,
Can they suffer?”
Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
Treat similar case similarly

Bentham: “Each is to count for one, no one for
more than one.”

Singer: The principle prescribes that “the interests
of every being affected by an action are to be
taken into account and given the same weight as
the like interests of any other being.” (Practical
Ethics, p. 152.)
Singer: Equal Consideration of Interest

No matter what the nature of the being, the
principle of equality requires that its suffering be
counted equally with the like suffering—in so far as
rough comparisons can be made—of any other
being.

The limits of sentience sets a boundary of concern
for the interests of others.
McMahan: Pain is equally bad wherever it
occurs

“Suffering of a certain intensity and duration is
equally bad, or almost equally bad, wherever it
occurs. The wrongness of inflicting it is therefore
not appreciably diminished if the victim’s cognitive
capacities are comparatively low, as in the case of
animals and the severely retarded.” “Animals”
The problem of Speciesism

The racist violates the principle of equality by
giving greater weight to the interests of members
of his own race ...

Similarly the speciesist allows the interests of his
own species to override the greater interests of
members of other species.
Rule out routine overriding of
animals’ interest

“At a practical level, equal consideration for
animals would rule out, most importantly, the
routine overriding of animals’ interests in the
name of human benefits.” p. 47 DeCrazia
Not to give them identical rights

“Women have an interest in competent
gynecological (婦科) care in a way that men do
not. Children have an interest in becoming literate
whereas dogs do not. Chimpanzees have an
interest in frequent social interactions with other
chimps, while some primates prefer to go it alone.
And competent adult humans have an interest in
making decisions about their own medical care,
but mice have no such interest.” p. 47