Sunday, April 19, 2009
Animal Rights
For the past week my friend's mom has been in the hospital (this is related, I promise) and she is unable to talk because she has a tube in her mouth. Well the nurses, while I know they're doing their job, tend not to shut the door or close the blinds when they are cleaning her up from things. Which, I think if she could talk, she would ask them to do ... just because most people tend to be private about that stuff. It just made me think back to the comment of just because people cannot talk does not mean they should not be treated ethically. I know this really isn't an ethical issue, just shutting the door, but it does show that most people don't really think about other people's feelings UNLESS they are able to speak them. I think the same goes with animals. If a dog could cry and say ouch that really hurts when a person kicks them, that person probably wouldn't do it again. Language seems to truly be the barrier as to how well we treat one another. I know I tend to brush people off if I don't understand what they're saying in a different language so I'm sure most people brush off other animals because they don't know what their language means. The golden rule needs to be followed in situations involving most living things because it transcends the language barrier that is faced.
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Good point. I think that our capacity to ignore others unless specifically addressed plays a large part in our putting up barriers through distancing devices. It's a lot like the person who cries for help on a crowded street, and no one comes to their aid. Unless specifically addressed, people can delude themselves into thinking that they have no obligations.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a really valid argument. Not only does it go for language. But I think it also goes for any ingured individual or animal. Midgley points this out when she discusses chimps astrosizing a crimpled chimp. I think humans do this to. The fact that both speicies do this shows there is some connection even if it is sad.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this comment. I do agree that even if people cannot talk, does not mean that they are not as important as others. This does go along the same lines as the importance of animals. Just because they cannot speak does not mean that they do not matter. I believe that animals have feelings and can be respected. They are beings just like humans, but they are not capable of all the things that humans can do. This can also be looked at in a way that some people are better than others. Is a person who is deaf of lesser importance than a person who can hear? This question is can be easy for some people to answer, but for others it may be more difficult. I personally do not think that there is a difference between these two people, but unfortunately some think differently.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this comment as well. I feel that people do not show the respect that people and animals should get when they cannot speak. Just because we do not know what an animal is thinking or feeling does not mean we should treat the animal the wrong way. They are living beings like us but do not have the ability to communicate with us. We should treat every living being the way we would want to be treated
ReplyDeleteI think you make a very good point as well. People tend to think they can get away with stuff just because someone or something cannot respond with words, they say actions speak louder then words but that's not always true. There are cases in which that is very true but most of the time speaking is the way of realizing what someone is feeling, so just because someone or something can not respond with words doesn't make it right for you to change how you treat them, imagine if it was yourself who was unable to communicate with words.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very valid argument. People tend to believe that the lack of communication istheir way of doing what they want because no one told them they couldn't. In class we brought this up and it was mentioned how the exceptions belong in the categories of babies. That just because they can't talk doesn't mean they don't have ideological feelings. Well, my dog can't talk, but I can tell when something is wrong with her. If she goes and sits by the door that means she needs to go outside. If she whines that generally means she is either not feeling well or is upset about something. Just because she can't come right out and say it, doesn't mean she should be treated unfairly.
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