Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [animals]

38 questions
66
votes
11 answers

Does human life have innate value over that of other animals?

Does human life have innate value over that of other animals? If so, why? And is it wrong to murder another human, but morally permissible to hunt or fish?
user37214
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59
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18 answers

Why is a lion not evil?

One often hears the claim that animals who kill and such, are not in fact evil. The typical example is that of a lion or a tiger that kills a prey. The argument is more or less that the animal acts instinctively in order to survive and thus we…
Deoro
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22
votes
12 answers

How can animals be objects of ethics without being subjects as well?

Most people seem to agree that animals cannot act immorally, even when they inflict suffering. They are thus completely excluded from being subjects of any kind of ethical framework. At the same time, there is an entire branch of ethics dealing with…
user37552
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18
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11 answers

Does the focus on "humane" killing of animals distract from the real moral problem of killing?

"Humane" in respect to killing animals means to minimize the animal's pain as they die. But this seems to completely sidestep the moral issue with killing, which has nothing to do with the pain. Given the choice: A. Suffer severe, intense pain for a…
causative
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13
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6 answers

Is there an ethical basis for killing less intelligent animals (as food) but not killing animals of higher intelligence?

I'd like to know whether morally there would be a difference between killing/hunting animals of higher intellect (apart from humans) and animals generally regarded of lower intellect. If there is no difference, why do some people object to…
user1039203
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4 answers

Do animals know that they are going to die?

This is maybe the wrong website for this type of question, but I'll try it anyway. I've somehow experienced this patterns mostly in cats (not scientifically proven, but pretty common also talking to other people): sometimes cats or dogs feel pain…
Shoe
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8
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4 answers

Is human exceptionalism justifiable?

This is syntactically a little awkward, but my question is: Is there some objective sense in which the differences, taken in sum, between humans and other animals are greater than the differences between any two non-human species? For instance,…
Tim kinsella
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6
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2 answers

Can an animal have qualia without self awareness?

Can an animal have qualia without self awareness? I understand that many animals are said to have qualia but not self awareness (perhaps not the great apes). In particular, I'm having a hard time thinking of how I could be acquainted with a quale,…
user35983
6
votes
1 answer

Most recent introduction to academic debates to vegetarianism and veganism

What are the most recent and comprehensive academic books on vegetarianism, veganism, food ethics etc.? I am looking for something that would cover the main discussions in the field... something in the lines of "A very short introduction…
user24961
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5 answers

moral value of dairy products?

Is the consumption of dairy products or eggs compatible with a) the theory of animal rights and b) equal consideration? Ad a) How can a right of ownership be defended, i.e. every animal is owner of her product, and what follows from it? How…
Frederike
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5
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3 answers

Are there writers on the topic of an inherent human bias towards the value of rational thinking?

Some people place humans as 'higher animals' because we are uniquely capable of rational thought, while most other animals are not. This assumes that the trait of rationality is superior to other unique traits that other animals may possess. For…
ning
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4
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7 answers

Can society exist without hierarchy?

If we consider "a society" to be a group of individuals within the same species who cooperate for the benefit of the group as a whole, then it is reasonable to say that all human societies are hierarchical to some degree. Several well known…
Jonno Bourne
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4
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12 answers

Are human lives always more important than animal lives?

Imagine a case: there is a fire in a house, there is a person and my pet dog and you only have enough time to save one. Which one should you should rescue? I think most people would choose the person. Consider another case: if I have a dog that is…
Gstestso
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3
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2 answers

Within scholastics, how does animals' perception work, when compared to humans' apprehension of universals?

In the study of scholastic philosophy, I'm struggling with this question for a while: It seems like dogs do know what dogs are. Aquinas states that animals have perception, capable of complex cognition: By definition, the living things that we call…
hellofriends
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4 answers

Reconciling an aversion to bestiality with being a carnivore

I have often heard the reason given for bestiality being wrong is that animals are incapable of giving consent. However, I'm a meat eater - I regularly eat animals that have been raised, slaughtered and butchered for me to eat in a manner that (in…
Damien_The_Unbeliever
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