Ethics of Animal Exploitation

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses Peter Singer's beliefs that while we may exploit animals for food or clothing, we need to be certain that we take the interests of the animals into consideration. The paper paints a picture of the often cruel treatment of animals by humans where there is no ethical consideration of the animal's interests whatsoever. The paper stresses that while the idea of producing mass quantities of low-cost food is not in itself evil, innocent animals deserve ethically defensible treatment.

From the Paper:

"Peter Singer is acknowledged as the father of the animal rights movement. His book Practical Ethics (1979) actually does not argue for animal rights, but rather for animal welfare. Singer's philosophy is utilitarian. His utilitarian approach is to judge right and wrong behavior on the basis of the behavior's consequences. The right act is the one that maximizes positive or beneficial consequences for all parties involved. The good or bad effects an action produces provide the basis for judgment of the action itself. The consequences of the individual specific act are what matter--and not what would happen if everybody acted the same way. This view is called act-utilitarianism."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Animal rights and animal welfare: The theoretical origins of new welfarism: Accessed 4/24/06: http://www.animal-law.org/library/araw_iii.htm.
• Atlantic Monthly (2005). If pigs could swim, 296 (2), 134, 136-139.
• Scully, M. (2003). Dominion: The power of man, the suffering of animals, and the call to mercy. Boston: St. Martin's Press.
• DeGrazia, D. (2003). Taking Animals Seriously: Mental Life and Moral Status. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
• LaFollette, H. and Shanks, N. (1996). The origin of speciesism. Philosphy [PDF version]: http://www.stpt.usf.edu/hhl/papers/species.htm.

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