Animal Rights And Utilitarianism - 1063 Words

Animal Rights and Utilitarianism Peter Singer argues, in regard to animal rights, that equal beings with equal interests should be considered equally. Singer makes three claims about equality to support his position; equality is based on equal consideration, speciesism is unjustified, and the ability to feel pain makes one worthy of moral consideration. He believes equal interests deserve equal treatment, and guidelines for having interests concern sentience; the ability to experience suffering. Comparing to the ideas of Mill, both are utilitarians and have a similar ideology around interests and moral consideration around the treatment of animals. Singer’s position on not eating meat is based on the utilitarian principle that ethical†¦show more content†¦There will always be some humans who don’t have the usual characteristics we find in an average human, therefore it is unfair to hold non-humans to the same expectations. Singer explains that our consumption, killing, and bringing of sufferin g to animals, as a means to our end, is a clear example of speciesism. This treatment is unjustified. Basing moral importance on species membership is also arbitrary, Singer argues. He believes it is not rational to think members of your species deserve greater consideration than those in another group. Singer’s third argument for animal rights regards sentience. Sentience is considered to Singer as, â€Å"a pre-requisite for having interests at all†. In order to have interests, you must first have sentience. Sentience is the ability to experience pain or suffering. Singer believes that any being should be treated equal regarding their interests if they are able to feel suffering. For example, popcorn can be eaten because it has no interests because it cannot suffer. Therefore, popcorn does not need equal consideration of its interests, for it has no interests at all. If the suffering of a being is equal to another, then it deserves equal concern. Beings that have the ability to suffer are united in their interest to not want to feel suffering. Animals and humans both suffer and feel pain. So if they both can suffer, thenShow MoreRelatedUtilitarianism and Animal Rights3174 Words   |  13 PagesAnimal Rights Throughout history morality has been a topic of intense debate. Innumerable thinkers have devoted immense amounts of time and energy to the formulation of various ethical theories intended to assist humans in their daily lives. These theories set out guidelines which help to determine the rightness or wrongness of any given action and can therefore illuminate which choice would be morally beneficial. 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