A Change Of Hearts About Animals

Decent Essays
Bryan Cruz
Ms. Jacobs
ERWC Period 4
October 5 2015
Animal Rights
Over the years of humankind, humans have always treated animals badly because people think of animals lower than them, but it has been shown that they’re much different than us and even Jeremy Rifkin explains that in “A Change of Hearts about Animals”. Animals are more like people than they first thought and should see why. It has been proven that animals have emotions like us and feel sad or happy. Animals also have shown their intelligence in tests that has changed our views in how they solve problems. They also have to be taught things that they never knew, just like humans. Animals should have rights for many reasons since they’re so much like humans.
Animals have proved that

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Your newspaper recently published an editorial by Jeremy Rifkin, author of The Biotech Century and president of the foundation on economic trends. The essay is entitled "A Change of Heart about Animals." In this essay Rifkin cites scientific studies about pigs, birds, and a monkey that all point to animals potentially having much greater intelligence and capacity to feel than we often give them credit for. He also speaks about various movements in support of animal rights and advocated greater empathy from humans to animals.(Rifkin 34-35) Rifkin's focus on animal empathy seems entirely detached from the reality of the situation; his piece fails to consider the socioeconomic implications of extended animal rights.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This field of study is able to provide arguments about the ethical treatments of animals through the realization that animal emotions exist. Ethics is able to focus on the well being of animals and shift from anthropocentrism. By realizing the relation between cognitive ethology, animal emotions and ethics, humans are no longer seen as superior over animals because they are regarded as similar to them. Cognitive ethology and animal emotions allow ethics to “ enrich our views of other animals” as well as “ change how we do science” (Bekoff, 2007,p. 22-23).…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Regarding Bob Stevens’ response to Rifkin’s editorial “A Change of Heart About Animals”, I would like to point out that Stevens’ arguments are quite weak. Most noticeable is Stevens’ overt use of hyperbole, by which he attempts to poke holes in Rifkin’s writing. While Rifkin simply mentions the practice of providing pigs with toys to keep them happy, Steven’s makes the unnecessary claim that providing pigs with toys shows that they matter more than children, and that this will ultimately lead to children having no toys. Not only is this a fallacy (a slippery slope fallacy to be exact), but this is obviously not true. With all of today’s manufacturers and caring parents, it’s highly unlikely that this sort of thing would happen.…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In response to “A Change of Heart about Animals” Rifkin states that animals are more like us than we imagined. He also says that “researchers are finding is that many of our fellow creatures are more like us than we had ever imagined.” I honestly disagree with him because I believe that animals should have rights yes, but I disagree with on the fact that wild animals shouldn’t have rights. Now, house pets such as dogs should have rights in the house, obviously, but they shouldn’t have the exact same rights as us humans. Now, I know most of us in this class treat our pets like humans, but does that really mean they should get the exact same rights as us?…

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article, “A change of Hearts about Animals,” by Jeremy Rifkin, he argues that the new findings by scientists show that animals are more similar to humans than we thought. In these findings we see that animals have emotion like they feel pain, get stressed, get happy and feel love like humans do. To support his claim he explains that there are studies that suggest that animals can acquire language skills, use tools, show self-awareness and pass on knowledge to the next generation. Through stating that animals are more like humans he wants humans to treat animals better.…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the article written by Jeremy Rifkin titled “A Change of Heart about Animals,” Rifkin argues that researchers have found that animals are similar to humans, which changes our perspectives of them. He elaborates how the research funded by fast food franchises reveal that pigs require mental and physical stimuli to function and how that caused European countries to change the way they treat pigs. The author extends on the similar emotional and cognitive abilities of animals and humans by demonstrating studies on the conceptual abilities of New Caledonian crows and the language abilities of Koko the gorilla. Rifkin continues to describe how animals have self-awareness and understand when they die, as evidenced by observations of orangutans…

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Does the society believe that animals should have rights? Society believes that animals are not like humans so the animals get treated inhumanely, but they are wrong. Studies have shown that animals are more like humans than previously thought and that they are more aware. The way society treats animals is inhumane because animals can feel pain, have similar characteristics to humans, and are self-aware.…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    There has been an ongoing debate on whether it is logical to have animal rights or not. You can either say that animal rights is foolish because animals are not developed enough to understand human behavior and they do not experience the same struggles as humans, therefore, they should not be given the same rights. On the other hand, one who supports animal rights, might say that animals should be given rights because even though they may not have the same human experiences, they do experience physical pain, emotion, and stress. They are still living beings, which makes it our responsibility to preserve the welfare of animals. Well what do you think?…

    • 1452 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There is no doubting the fact that animals do not have rights in the conventional sense, or in any other sense for that matter. The reason is because they are not moral agents; they cannot do things out of a sense of right or wrong and cannot reason, as opposed to humans. Without reasoning, they are unable to have rights and therefore, are not responsible. Does that mean humans have the right to treat animals badly? Of course not; but that is for humans to decide, because animals cannot decide anything.…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I am writing to you, Jeremy Rifkin, today to talk about the article that you have written “A Change of Heart about Animals”. In the article you talk about how animals do have at least basic human feelings and if not more. That “many of our fellow creatures are more like us than we had ever imagined”. That we should do something about how we treat the animals around us. I absolutely agree with you and think we should treat the animals around us differently than we do now.…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hesse G. Sambaan September 25, 2017 Comp II What’s wrong with the animal rights by Vicki Hearne Vicki Hearne thinks that there is more for animal satisfaction for happiness that is the personal achievement. Animals find happiness in their work that they do that you can call “talent”. She believes that animal right advocates got all it wrong, making some of the animals suffer and they are more concern of arguing than the animal’s happiness. The essay was persuasive, she uses her own knowledge as animal trainer and she proves that the only one who can really define the animal’s happiness is the owner. to clarify her own essays, she also uses her own animals, her experienced, and a lot of examples.…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Animal Rights Should animals have rights? If so, should these rights be comparable to those given to humans? Animal Rights are rights believed to be owed to animals in order for them to live full lives, free from suffering. Animals are currently being used, and in some cases abused, in medical research, clothing industries, hunting for sport, food, and population control, and countless other services to humans. As is the case with all ethical issues, there are two defined perspectives and supporters of the current and future treatment given and due to animals.…

    • 1264 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pets are born into this world not knowing what their future will be like. Where they are going, how are they going to be treated, and if they will be cared for and loved. There are so many pets who are treated wonderful and others that are unfortunate. When I was around 10 years old I saw a dog get mistreated. It was the worst thing that I could possibly see.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Animal Welfare Essay

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the world today, people cannot do without animals because they have become an essential part of human existence to both vegetarians and meat eaters. Some animals serve as pet, and some serve as food, and others are used for sports and laboratory experiments. Although some animal activist advocates for animal rights, there are limits to that right because animals cannot be equal with human. They don’t have the intellectual ability that humans have to take responsibilities and control what happens around them. These animals are important in the society and the need to treat them with respect is paramount.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever been in a situation where you felt completely paralyzed, alone and afraid? Rethink that feeling, imagine feeling like that every second of every day while everyone sits around and watches but does nothing. Now picture that moment from an outsider's perspective, you're seeing this happen, what would you do? According to ASPCA, an animal is being abused every ten seconds in America alone. Right under our noses there are creatures feeling paralyzed and what do we do?…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays