Part III: Non-anthropocentrism ENS 205

By Dr. Elsa Sattout

Animal Liberation & Utilitarianism

Content

1. What is biocentrism?

2. Revisiting: Biocentrism vs. ecocentrism

3. Biocentrism: Utilitarian vs. Deontological ethics

4. Utilitarianism:

i. Cruelty towards animals: Animal husbandry & Meat industry/Bullfight and Rodeos

ii. Eco-destructive side of meat production

iii. Replacement argument

iv. Animals in research

5. Speciessism and species conservation approach

6. Conclusion

Biocentrism

Introduction

Biocentrism

It is literally life-centered

It is associated with ‘an attitude of respect for nature’

It is to regard the wild plants and animals of the Earth’s

natural ecosystems as possessing inherent worth.

That such creatures have inherent worth may be

considered the fundamental value presupposition of the

attitude of respect

Biocentrism

There are 4 related aspects to biocentric outlook:

1. Humans are members of the community of life in the same

sense, and on the same terms, as other living things

2. That community, of which humans are a part, consists of a

system of interdependence comprising not only physical

conditions, but also relations with other members

3. Every such organism is an individual pursuing its own kind of

good

4. Humans are not inherently superior to other organisms

Respect should be accorded to all organisms, human or otherwise,

alike that is unconditionally

Non-anthropocentrism

Biocentrism vs. Ecocentrism

Biocentrism Vs. Ecocentrism

Biocentrism: life itself is a value, in all its forms i.e. organisms.

Zoocentrism: The principal locus of value is animals i.e. in practice nonhuman animals

Ecocentrism is the more

inclusive concept and value

than Biocentrism

Life is itself dependent on

components aptly summarized in

the ancient symbolic elements of

earth, water, air and fire

Ecosystems thus comprise a complex

ongoing dance of interrelationships

not only with other organisms but with

the non-organic world

Moral worth of animals

Rational being alone have moral worth

(Kant, 1724-1804)

Animals are not persons because they are not rational, self-

conscious beings capable of grasping the moral law.

Since they are not part of the kingdom of moral legislators, we

who are members of that kingdom do not owe them anything.

We should be kind to them since that will help develop good

character in us and help us treat our fellow human beings with

greater consideration

Our duties to animals are simply indirect duties to other human

beings

Animal rights: Two moral defenses

Utilitarian vs. Deontological ethic

Utilitarian: Moral worth of animals

(Peter Singer)

What makes beings morally considerable is not reason but sentience

All sentient creatures have the ability to suffer and, as such, have interests

The frustration of these interests leads to suffering

Utilitarianism seeks to maximize the satisfaction of interests whether they be those of humans or animals

Allow some animal experimentation

Utilitarian

According to the utilitarian theory, actions are right or

wrong, good or bad, according to the experiences of

beings capable of experience.

Two things should be emphasized:

1. Long-term effects are just as important as more

immediate effects.

2. It is irrelevant who receives the pleasure and pain.

Pleasure is good, and pain is bad, regardless of who

experiences it [Altruistic].

Deontological (Tom Regan)

The equal position on animal rights contends that the same essential psychological properties, desires, memory, intelligence, and so on … link all animals and the human animal and thereby give us equal intrinsic value upon which equal rights are founded

No rights to experiment on animals.

Animals like humans are ends in themselves so utility is not sufficient to override these rights.

Calls for total dissolution of commercial animal farming, the total elimination of hunting and trapping, and the total abolition of animal experiments

Advocate of Animal Rights (Regan, 1983)

Total abolition of the use of animals in science

Total dissolution of commercial animal agriculture

Total elimination of commercial and sport hunting and

trapping

Utilitarian & Deontological animal rights:

Attacked

R. G. Frey. Argued that:

Because of the greater complexity of human psyche and its

social system, utility will be maximized by exploiting animals.

What is needed is an amelioration of existing large-scale farms

and safeguards in animal experimentation to ensure against

unnecessary suffering

Cruelty towards animals

Cruelty to animals

We will explore concern for animals from a utilitarian

perspective and examines the adequacy of utilitarianism

as an ethical theory.

Reminder: Ethical theories explain in general terms what

makes any action right or wrong, good or bad.

Animal husbandry White calves

Calves are taken from their mothers when they are just a few days old

Calves are confined in small wooden stalls to prevent exercise and develop muscles

Calves spend all their life [16 weeks] confined in the stall

They do not feed on grass and hay [they are intentionally made anemic].This is done even though the pink colors adds nothing to the taste of the veal

They are fed on powdered milk, vitamins and growth-producing drugs

Animal husbandry

Factory farming is cruel [Singer]

1. Modifying animal’s environment for

maximum profit

2. Tail docking because of antisocial

behavior (sign of stress):rather than

recommending stress relief, USDA

suggests tail docking

3. Porcine stress syndrome (death)

4. Whether it is beef, pork, chicken or

eggs what you find in the grocery

store almost always results from

revolting cruelty to animals.

Eco-destructive side of the meat industry

1. Toxic chemical residues in the food chain

2. Pharmaceutical additives in animal feeds

3. Polluting chemicals and animal wastes from feedlot runoff in waterways and underground aquifers

4. Loss of topsoil caused by patterns of relentless grazing

5. Domestic and foreign deforestation and desertification resulting from the clearing of land for grazing and cultivating animal feed

6. Threatened habitats of wild species of plants and animals

7. Intensive exploitation of water and energy supplies

8. Ozone depletion caused by extensive use of fossil fuels and significant production of methane gas by cattle

Rodeos & bullfights

A Bucking strap placed in the area of the small intestines

and kidneys, then tightened unbearably to provoke tame

horses to go ‘loco’ in excruciating agony

Electric pods used to agitate horses to a crazy state of

pain and fear so that they put on a good show

Animal & Research

LD 50 test used in conducting toxicity research

LD50 is the amount of a material, given all at once, which

causes the death of 50% (one half) of a group of test animals.

The LD50 is one way to measure the short-term poisoning

potential (acute toxicity) of a material.

Toxicologists can use many kinds of animals but most often

testing is done with rats and mice. It is usually expressed as

the amount of chemical administered (e.g., milligrams) per 100

grams (for smaller animals) or per kilogram (for bigger test

subjects) of the body weight of the tested animal.

Animal & Research

In 1987, EPA’s toxicology branch recorded 16,000 LD50

tests

In LD50 tests, the substance being examined is

administered to research animals in increasing doses to

discover the level at which 50 % level is reached with

relatively low doses

These animals are forced-fed and injected via feeding

tubes or needles

Due in large parts to the protests of animal right activists,

the LD50 test is prohibited in some countries

The replacement argument

Utilitarianism calls for people to raise animals humanely,

kill them painlessly, enjoy the food and then replace the

animals killed with other animals leading pleasant lives.

This is called replacement argument because it says

happy animals should be killed painlessly and replaced by

other happy animals

Vegetarianism

The current treatment of livestock is the cheapest way to

raise animals and kill them.

If these methods are disallowed, prices for meat and eggs

will increase.

This will reduce pleasure among people who want low

prices on food so they have money left over to spend on

other necessities, not to mention luxuries.

Utilitarian & Altruist

Altruists count their own good and that of others are

equally important.

Being altruist, utilitarian try to produce maximum

pleasure and minimum pain, counting their own pleasure

and pain as no more or less important than anyone’s

else’s.

Utilitarianism & Cost Benefit Analysis

Similar as both recommends actions that maximize net

good and rely on mathematical calculations to identify

those actions

Both endorse maximizing the total net good (happiness in

one case and wealth in other) without concern for how

the good is distributed (equally or not)

Utilitarians value human well being regardless of race,

religion or nationality. This accords with utilitarian’s

highest moral aspirations.

Preference utilitarianism

The goal of preference utilitarians is to maximize not

pleasure or happiness but the satisfaction of preferences

Because preferences often conflict, we need to evaluate

their relative strength.

We cannot measure accurately one person’s pleasure

against another person’s pleasure (or pain). The same is

true for preferences when they are viewed as internal

psychological states.

Speciesism

A prejudice or attitude of bias in favor of the

interests of members of one’s own species

and against those of members of other species

(By Singer)

Analogous to both racism and sexism (By

Singer)

Conclusion

Environmental ethics requires more than simply a

concern for animals

We need to consider the moral status of ecological

communities and about our role in those communities

A shift to holistic and truly non-anthropocentric ethics

requires a fairly radical break from tradition