ethics

Ethical theory provides us with the guidelines needed to steer through real-world ethical problems. Although there are many ethical dilemmas around us, there are also various approaches to resolve these problems. A particular ethical dilemma that I will discuss in this paper is the cruelty to animals, in particular, the consumption of animals in excess. Most animals go through artificial insemination, injection of steroids, and slicing of beaks, so we can eat them. Animals go through a lot of inhumane treatment for the sake of our appetite. This is a topic that I am particularly passionate about. It is very common for people to view animals as mere food and disregard them as anything else. This view leads to the vicious abuse that many animals undergo in factories so that we can find them packaged and on the shelves of local markets. It is very saddening that the meat intake constantly increases. I am well aware that the solution isn’t to become vegans or vegetarians; however, there are multiple resolutions to decreasing the intake of meat. These resolutions could ultimately help in limiting the cruelty that these animals undergo for our own selfish desires. In this paper I will seek to explore the different resolutions that utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics would suggest for this dilemma.

According to the utilitarianism philosophy, it would suggest that there is no real resolution because animal cruelty provides people with meat, and that produces the most happiness for the greatest number of people. The utilitarian view suggest that an act is right if and only if it is the most productive of the most utility (happiness and/or pleasure) for the greatest number of people. More so, an act is good if it maximizes plea...

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...als. As a result, we view eating animals as a birthright, which should not be the case. Animals should be seen as a treasure when we do eat them and not an everyday meal. Even in Genesis, we are told that plants and their seeds are what we should feast with, not animals. Aside from the biblical view, it is completely arrogant to look past what the factories do to these animals to get them on our dinner table. Animals have will, protect their young, sleep, and eat, just like humans do. While we have more dignity than them, we must practice humility to get rid of our arrogance that we are the ultimate beings. Virtue ethics does not tell us to become extreme vegetarians, but eating animals in excess is an indication that we do not have any respect for them. But, by learning from a young age to treat animals with respect, then they will view them with a sense of telos.