Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. This is undoubtedly true, any moral society not only values others who may appear beneath them, but additionally treats those who are less fortunate with respect, and dignity. Unfortunately, I cannot say this is true for the country I live in, but I hope after you have read this essay, you and others may become a part of the change this world desperately needs. In this paper I will defend claims found in the text ‘Animal Morals’, and the video ‘Moral behaviour in Animals’ by Frans de Waals. Animals deserve the right to live without being victims to cruelty because they all share the ability to feel, are living beings, and are …show more content…
Similar to the golden rule “treat others the way you’d like to be treated”, reciprocity is defined as the ability to treat others they way they treat us. De Waals uses an experiment from 1937, which demonstrates reciprocity found in apes. It involves two apes pulling a log of wood with food on it, one ape is not hungry and is not interested in the food, while the other ape is clearly unfed and determined to bring the food over. In the end, both apes cooperate together in order to bring the food over and the one ape who was clearly starving was allowed to eat all of the food without sharing, but he would now owe the other ape a favor in the future. This experiment recognized the apes’ ability to cooperate and work with each other, and their knowledge of reciprocity or fairness. He supports what he refers to as evolutionary ethics, the concept that morality is grounded on the natural emotional reactions we have to others, including empathy, and the necessity for social species to work together. De Waals concludes that since he was able to find both empathy and reciprocity in humans and animals, and there is an evolutionary justification for that ideal then morality is real, natural and continuous across
Chapter one of “The Bonobo And The Atheist” was rather interesting. De Waal focusing primarily on chimps studied morality. Now what is morality? Morality in short is having an understanding of right and wrong. Human beings have an understanding of right and wrong due to our beliefs and our teachings growing up. De Waal explains animals and humans do not share these common beliefs and he focuses his area of study on perhaps why they show signs of morality much like humans do. Humans are usually shaped around their specific religion, they have an understanding of god and the commandments so on and so forth. This is the case for me because I grew up in a very traditional roman catholic family. From a very young age I was forced to go to church
From that opinion, one may assert that morals themselves are not absolute. Still, deontological moral theory provides a strong base for making correct decisions. There are few realistic exceptions to the theory and one can easily notice when an exception is to be made. So, knowing that deontology creates a valuable beginning for a strong moral theory, one can simply interpret the theory less strictly.
As I have progressed through this class, my already strong interest in animal ethics has grown substantially. The animal narratives that we have read for this course and their discussion have prompted me to think more deeply about mankind’s treatment of our fellow animals, including how my actions impact Earth’s countless other creatures. It is all too easy to separate one’s ethical perspective and personal philosophy from one’s actions, and so after coming to the conclusion that meat was not something that was worth killing for to me, I became a vegetarian. The trigger for this change (one that I had attempted before, I might add) was in the many stories of animal narratives and their inseparable discussion of the morality in how we treat animals. I will discuss the messages and lessons that the readings have presented on animal ethics, particularly in The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Dead Body and the Living Brain, Rachel in Love, My Friend the Pig, and It Was a Different Day When They Killed the Pig. These stories are particularly relevant to the topic of animal ethics and what constitutes moral treatment of animals, each carrying important lessons on different facets the vast subject of animal ethics.
Do animals have rights and moral standing? I believe that they do. Peter Carruthers does not. He is completely against the moral standing of animals. I will be explaining his views, and arguing against them showing why animals should have moral standing.
... i.e. for pragmatic reasons, the evolution of ethics had different roots - psychological, spiritual. It is based on the person’s ability for empathy, which is the basis of moral behavior of a person, his kindness and decency. It can be argued that the ability for empathy highlighted man from the world of animals. With the development of spirituality and feeling of compassion, people began to feel uncomfortable by the fact that their actions were constantly associated with the infliction of suffering to other beings and even their killing. Even in ancient times high minds have concluded that man as being rational and moral should not defile themselves with murder. The alternative is to live a more moral, more humane life, without killing animals. Humanity will then become higher in the spiritual sense and feel a beneficial effect of merciful attitude to the weakest.
Principle of Reciprocity: Human nature has indoctrinated us a value that “one good turn deserves another.” We feel that if a form of kindness is extended to us, the best way to show our appreciation is to give them something back in return. The added incentive is that in reciprocity, trust is built and relationships are born. In a business setting, reciprocity can be gleamed in brand loyalty. Free samples that are given induce clients to buy a product. A positive experience will draw an audience closer.
For the purpose of this essay, this writer will define reciprocity as the expectation or ‘norm’ that people will respond to another party in the same manner in which the other party has treated them. So, for practical purposes, this means rewarding a good deed with another good deed, and punishing a bad deed with another bad deed. Of course, in order for a system like this to produce a favorable outcome, both groups must start out with good deeds, otherwise the system will only lead to relatively permanent hostilities.
“The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.”(Arthur Schopenhauer)
Taking this to be true, Kaufman argues that there is every reason to believe that on the whole our moral judgments will tend to be true. Furthermore, when we take the moral realist’s argument that morality has a deep connection with human flourishing, there are evolutionary reasons, Kaufman believes, for believing that there is a connection between moral judgments and actions that for the most part promote our well being.
Reciprocity; this is the mutual exchange of value or service. It has been proved that one is likely to respond positively to another based on the feeling of indebtedness to the previous favor he might have received earlier. It is like the “scratch my back I scratch yours” situation. Once this
Altruism can be found in various places like Primates, Humans, and even Bacteria. Reciprocal altruism is often mixed up with altruism, a good difference of them can be found in the common expression, “I scratch your back, and you scratch my back....
“There can be many reason for animal cruelty, like any other form of violence, is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed, or under control of others. Some who are cruel to animals copy acts what they have seen or that have been done to them, others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge against--or threaten-- someone who cares about that animal”. (“Animal… Statistics”) Concerns towards abusing animals have gone up in the past. Although there are not many cases on animal abuse, many have occurred. Abusers are charged with Criminal Animal Abuse and then sentenced to life in prison. Some animals that are physically abused are sometimes rescued by Animal Control, and are taken it to an animal shelter. However, many shelters have not had the space to keep the animals so the workers would have to put them down (Carol Roach). Researchers have shown that the main animals getting abused are dogs, chickens, horses, and livestock (“Animal...
The ugly truth is that animals are dying at the hands of their owners everyday, some in very violent ways that can be avoidable given the right solution. Slaughterhouses, puppy mills, dog fighting, and so on, are just a few examples of how animals are being treated badly by people. Animal cruelty is a form of violence which, un...
Reciprocity is symbolic of creating, maintaining, or strengthening social relationships as well as satisfying the material needs and wants of someone in need. It refers to the exchange of objects without the use of money or other media of exchange. It can take the form of sharing, hospitality, gifts, or bartering. Anthropologists identify three forms of reciprocity.
I will first look at the views of Peter Singer, who is a utilitarian. A