Speciesism is so prevalent and normalized in today’s world that it has become a horrid reality for billions of nonhuman animals. Think about it, why do we love some- and consume other animals? Why do we treat a dog as a family member and a pig-like disposable object? Why is that abusing a cat or dog is not morally justifiable but the same way abusing and mutilating farm animals is? Why is there segregation in species themselves? Perhaps, speciesism explains why. So let’s take it from the top because there’s a lot to unpack. For the uninitiated, what is speciesism? It’s the idea of separating and segregating species, especially discrimination against animals, based on the assumption of human superiority. If we trace back to the history of this term. The word “speciesism” was first coined by Richard Ryder and then popularised by Peter singer in his 1975 book “Animal Liberation” in which the philosopher explains the term as
“a prejudice or attitude of bias in favour of the interests of members of one's species and against those of members of other species”
and believe it or not, this mentality has seeped deep in our brains and has become ingrained in the way we humans view our relationships with other species. human's indiscriminate exploitation of trillions of sentient land and marine animals stems from the very speciesist way of perceiving things. Sadly, today the thought of animals deserving basic moral consideration is considered by some a moot argument.
To understand this more deeply, let’s do a trivial thought experiment. If you see two children fighting with each other, what will be your first response? Probably stopping them. Now, what if you saw an animal's throat being slit off? (I know that escalated pretty quickly) In your heart, the very first feeling would probably be to stop it as well. However, the reality is, most people in the first case would do something because it’s our species. In the second case, it’ll largely depend on the animal itself, because answers would change depending on the species. Think about it, if it were a sheep, hen, goat, pig, cow, or any farm animal whose throat is being slit off for fur or food, most people won’t see a problem in this because we humans have normalized behaviour that we would normally consider to be horrific, further reinforcing the idea of Speciesism. This separation done by humans carries the idea of human superiority. Just like every coin has two sides, many people view speciesism as “natural” and that it is common to treat one’s own species favourably. There’s a classic example that explains this well, what if you were to choose between saving the life of a child and a dog trapped in a fire. Now favouring one’s species in a situation like this could be morally justified, society would condemn anyone who delayed the decision in order to make a correct moral choice. However, it’s important to note that these are extreme situations don’t justify speciesism.
From a scientific perspective, non-human animals have the same or at least almost identical areas of the brain involved in processing pain and show similar pain responses to humans. Lori Marino, a renowned neuroscientist who studies animal behaviour and intelligence, makes it clear that pigs — and even chickens — are intelligent, emotional beings bursting with personalities. At a very superficial level, this makes it pretty evident that there’s a paradox in our plates. Why have we evolved to feel empathy towards certain species and numb to others?
Perhaps, questions like these challenge many philosophies and ideologies that we carry with us through life. Today, societies and cultures condition us from birth into believing that animal products are normal and necessary for even the most trivial wants. It’s high time we acknowledge the fact that the planet does not belong to humans; we merely co-exist with all the other species residing here with us. It’s time we realize the gravity of our actions and start to look at the world through billions of eyes, whose lives are taken away from them by force.
Comments