Issue Based Research
The article “An Argument for Animal Rights” by V. Vachula supports animal rights. Vachula believes this issue should be a moral concern. Many times throughout the article he asks the question, "Who gave us our rights, and the ability to choose who gets them? Because human deem themselves superior to animals, we grant ourselves rights over them." To support his idea he introduces extraterrestrial beings visiting our planet. This may be an unrealistic event, but it does get the point across. Vachula considers extraterrestrial beings to be a more intelligent and advanced species. This would make them more superior than we are. After he introduced this, he asks the question, “Does that give them the right to do as they wish? Would it be OK for them to use us for food, fashion or biological testing if it benefited their species?” (para. 2) This puts us in the animal’s shoes. We use animals for food, clothing, and services. Would we, as humans, enjoy that treatment if extraterrestrials came and did the same to us? I definitely would not. We should consider the positions the animals are in and give them the rights they deserve.
Vachula also draws on psychological capabilities people assume animals do not have. “One may argue that it is …show more content…
“We each have a central nervous system and so we can feel pain and have the capacity for suffering. But do animals share a similar consciousness with humans?” (para. 4). This authors does not have an answer to this question at the time the article was written. Just like reason, today there is an answer. Animal do have consciousness. To have consciousness is to be aware of your surroundings. Animals are fully aware of their surroundings. They know when another animal is nearby, they are able to determine changes in weather, and are able to determine where the best place is to find resources. We are both capable of consciousness; therefore we are
The article “An Argument for Animal Rights” by V. Vachula supports animal rights. Vachula believes this issue should be a moral concern. Many times throughout the article he asks the question, "Who gave us our rights, and the ability to choose who gets them? Because human deem themselves superior to animals, we grant ourselves rights over them." To support his idea he introduces extraterrestrial beings visiting our planet. This may be an unrealistic event, but it does get the point across. Vachula considers extraterrestrial beings to be a more intelligent and advanced species. This would make them more superior than we are. After he introduced this, he asks the question, “Does that give them the right to do as they wish? Would it be OK for them to use us for food, fashion or biological testing if it benefited their species?” (para. 2) This puts us in the animal’s shoes. We use animals for food, clothing, and services. Would we, as humans, enjoy that treatment if extraterrestrials came and did the same to us? I definitely would not. We should consider the positions the animals are in and give them the rights they deserve.
Vachula also draws on psychological capabilities people assume animals do not have. “One may argue that it is …show more content…
“We each have a central nervous system and so we can feel pain and have the capacity for suffering. But do animals share a similar consciousness with humans?” (para. 4). This authors does not have an answer to this question at the time the article was written. Just like reason, today there is an answer. Animal do have consciousness. To have consciousness is to be aware of your surroundings. Animals are fully aware of their surroundings. They know when another animal is nearby, they are able to determine changes in weather, and are able to determine where the best place is to find resources. We are both capable of consciousness; therefore we are