Peter Singer is a 72-year-old Australian philosopher who in 1975 wrote the book The Liberation of Animals and in which he has gathered many criticisms, some of them of wild origin.
Singer discusses animal torture in experimentation and breeding, and highlights the multiple advantages of plant foods. It also analyzes the attitudes that have taken place in cultures, religions or philosophy, both lucidal and clumsy. In the clutches, Descartes was unforgettable: he considered animals as machines without sensitivity, perfect machines, since, however, they are made by God…
But the scandal has particularly affected the first chapters of the book. Here is the utilitarian philosopher Bentham, who in 1789 warned that if the color of the skin is not the reason to leave people in the hands of the executioner, there will also be no reason for him to suffer a sensitive being due to the hair or the number of legs of his skin. “What is the criterion for this?” asks Bentham. Lack of ability to reason and speak? No: horses and dogs are more judicious and charlatans than a newborn child. What if not, what? Because the question is not: “Can you reason?” but: “Can you suffer?”
Suffering is measured by quantity and not by sex, race or species of sufferer.
The nervous system of mammals and birds is like ours and, although they are different, we all suffer similar physical pain, says Singer, although their psychic pain may be less, or greater, how. Suffering is measured by quantity and not by sex, race or species of the sufferer, and because all sentient beings are interested in not suffering, it is morally unjustifiable to consider the pain of an animal as less than the same pain of a people. Pain for us and for them.
In line with Bentham’s argument, Singer believes that there is less interest in life for people with a very impaired brain than for a healthy animal. Detestable anti-humanism! the spectra are tilted further: “Trisomics have less right to life than older mosquitoes!” But Singer's reason is the opposite: if people with intellectual disabilities treat animals with respect, why not? In short, if the reason that leads them to despise their suffering is that they cannot speak or reflect, the same can justify the mistreatment of people with intellectual disabilities.
In any case, add the chicheteros, how hard the vegan world is, without cow lamb pigs! More rude than terrible, seeing that the cruelty of the slaughterhouses does not stop. As if climate skeptics responded to CO2 reduction measures: “Beware, eh! The glacier will come to us!”
Bidali zure iritzi artikuluak iritzia@argia.eus helbide elektronikora
ARGIAk ez du zertan bat etorri artikuluen edukiarekin. Idatzien gehienezko luzera 4.500 karakterekoa da (espazioak barne). Idazkera aldetik gutxieneko zuzentasun bat beharrezkoa da: batetik, ARGIAk ezin du hartu zuzenketa sakona egiteko lanik; bestetik, egitekotan edukia nahi gabe aldatzeko arriskua dago. ARGIAk azaleko zuzenketak edo moldaketak egingo dizkie artikuluei, behar izanez gero.
I received your e-mail in personal mail on the strike portals. At first, like many others, I thought it was to let you know what options we have in the face of the strike. But no, the e-mail received was a political and communicative movement against the strike.
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Zalantza asko izan ditut, meloia ireki ala ez. Ausartuko naiz, zer demontre! Aspaldian buruan dudan gogoeta jarri nahi dut mahai gainean: ez da justua erditu den emakumearen eta beste gurasoaren baimen-iraupena bera izatea. Hobeto esanda, baimen-denbora bera izanda ere, ez... [+]
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Eroso gaude ingurunea gure egoera fisiko/emozionalera egokitzen denean. Besteak ni kontuan hartu nauenean, izan gizaki bat, objektu bat, espazio bat. Erosotasunaren klabea produktu eta espazio diseinuan beharrizan handi gisa sartu da, erosotzat jotzen dena erosgarria delako... [+]