In Animals and Why They Matter, Mary Midgley gives a very balanced and logical view on environmental issues. She stays away from any extreme, be it radical traditionalism or environmentalism. Midgley is a firm advocate for animal rights, but she is not blinded by any ideology. She realizes that there is a middle ground to every issue, and this makes her very influential and respectable.
When the issue of competition is brought up, she has a very acceptable view point on the situation. When first reading this chapter, I became alarmed when I thought she would take the stance that in a dire situation, it is not right to save a family member over another person or animal. Midgley admits that there are special duties based on kinship and that to deny this, the person would be “muddled” (p.23). She balances this out with the fact that there will not always be competition, so then you can help others who are “farther down the queue” from you. She also believes that there are situations that arise where helping another overrides kinship bonds. She supported this with the story of the Good Samaritan, which really established this point with me. Also, Midgley’s view on eating meat is something I could actually conform too. I know I could never take meat out of me diet, but her belief that if everyone could lessen the amount of meat they consume, it would make a large difference is an idea that would be plausible to many more people. This is an idea that I could make part of my life.
Midgley moderate view points make it easy for a person who is not overly concerned with animal rights to buy into her ideas. It is hard for someone who has never thought of animals as equals to suddenly adopt ideas that animal activists hold. But mild view points such as lessening the amount of meat you consume and protesting against factory farming and needless animal experimentation are plans that can easily be adopted into a style of living for many more people.
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