Transcript AR Primer - Animal Liberation Front

Who developed the “animal
rights” philosophy?
The theory of the 'universal kinship' of man and
other creatures was taught by Buddha,
Pythagoras and Plutarch. Other contributors:
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519),
artist and scientist
“The time will come when men
such as I will look upon the
murder of animals as they now
look on the murder of men.”
Jeremy Bentham
(1748-1832)
1. “The question is not –
‘Can they reason?’
nor ‘Can they talk?’ but
‘Can they suffer?’”
2. “The day may come when the rest of
animal creation may acquire those rights
which never could have been withholden
from them except by the hand of tyranny.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 18031882, author
“You have just dined, and however
scrupulously the slaughterhouse is
concealed in the graceful distance
of miles, there is complicity.”
Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865,
16th US President
“I am in favor of animal rights as
well as human rights. That is the
way of a whole human being.”
Mark Twain, author, 1835-1910
“I am not interested to know whether
vivisection produces results that are
profitable to the human race or doesn't. . .
.The pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting
animals is the basis of my enmity toward it,
and it is to me sufficient justification of the
enmity without looking further.”
Leo Tolstoy, author, 1828-1910
"What I think about vivisection is that if people
admit that they have the right to take or
endanger the life of living beings for the benefit
of many, there will be no limit to their cruelty.”
Thomas Edison, inventor, 1847-1931
“Non-violence leads to the
highest ethics, which is the goal
of all evolution. Until we stop
harming all other living beings,
we are still savages.”
Mahatma Gandhi, statesman
and philosopher, 1869-1948
“To my mind, the life of a lamb
is no less precious than that of a
human being.”
George Bernard Shaw, author, 1856-1950
1. “If a group of beings from another
planet were to land on Earth--beings
who considered themselves as
superior to you as you feel yourself to
be to other animals--would you
concede them the rights over you
that you assume over other animals?”
2. “Atrocities are not less atrocities
when they occur in laboratories
and are call medical research.”
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)
“By reason of the quite universal
idea of participation in a common
nature, it is compelled to declare
the unity of mankind with all
created beings.”
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, physicist
1. “Our task must be to free
ourselves... by widening our circle
of compassion to embrace all living
creatures and the whole of nature
and its beauty.”
2. “It is my view that the vegetarian
manner of living by its purely
physical effect on the human
temperament would most beneficially
influence the lot of mankind.”
William O. Douglas, 1898-1980,
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
“[The day should come when] all
of the forms of life...will stand
before the court--the pileated
woodpecker as well as the coyote
and bear, the lemmings as well
as the trout in the streams.”
Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1904-1991,
author, Nobel Prize 1978
1. “People often say that humans
have always eaten animals, as if
this is a justification for continuing
the practice. According to this logic,
we should not try to prevent people
from murdering other people, since
this has also been done since the
earliest of times.”
Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1904-1991,
author, Nobel Prize 1978
2. “In their behavior toward
creatures, all men are Nazis.
Human beings see oppression
vividly when they're the victims.
Otherwise they victimize blindly
and without a thought.”
Peter Singer (1946- ), Princeton Prof.
“If a being suffers, there can be no
moral justification for refusing to
take that suffering into
consideration. No matter what the
nature of the being, the principle of
equality requires that its suffering
be counted equally with the like
suffering of any other being.”
Tom Regan, NC
State Professor
“Animals, it is true, lack many of the abilities
humans possess. They can't read, do higher
maths, build a bookcase or make baba
ghanoush. Neither can many humans, and yet
we don't (and shouldn't) say that they
therefore have less inherent value, less of a
right to be treated with respect, than do
others.”
So, the question is
whether it is morally ok
to harm animals – by
way of causing pain
and suffering.
Common view: yes.
Great thinkers argue: no.
Evolution
of
“Rights”