Dennis J U
Department of Comparative Medicine, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey 17033, USA.
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1997 Mar 1;210(5):612-8.
I have attempted to show that the differential qualities of animals and human beings indeed to have bearing on moral rules and the derivation of rights, including rights established on the basis of reason and utilitarianism. Special rights for members of our species are not simply a consequence of human domination and self-interest. I also have tried to show that rights arise from values and that the qualities we value most highly often are the ones that distinguish human beings from other species. I maintain that giving more value to human lives over animal lives achieves reflective balance with the commonsense notions that most of us have developed. Because utilitarianism, contractualism, and the classical philosophical methods of Kant and Aristotle all may allow favoring human interests over animal interests, it seems reasonable to suspect that animal rights activists embrace narrow, extremist views. There are many uniquely human experiences to which we ascribe high value-deep interpersonal relationships, achieving a life's goal, enjoying a complex cultural event such as a play or an opera, or authoring a manuscript. Therefore, it would seem improper that social and ethical considerations regarding animals be centered entirely on the notion of a biological continuum, because there are many kinds of human experience-moral, religious, aesthetic, and otherwise-that appear to be outside the realm of biology. Knowledge about the biology of animals is helpful for making moral decisions about our obligations to them. Why, then, is there a substantial population of animal rights activists in Europe, the United States, and throughout the world, who would not agree with my conclusions? Certain habitual ways of thinking may encourage anthropomorphism and equating animal interests with human interests. Certain metaphysical beliefs, such as a belief in reincarnation, also might favor animal rights. It also is possible that a number of people are being deceived and misled by a smaller, more radical minority. I believe that a commitment to animal rights principles also may arise from a world view of strict naturalism. If ethical inquiry is based strictly on naturalism without criteria for value and goodness, then perhaps extreme views granting animals the same rights as human beings are a logical consequence of those premises; however, it is not clear to me whether one could be internally consistent and still maintain those beliefs. Moral convictions do not arise directly from the ethical frameworks I have discussed. The study of ethics only casts light on our presumptions and suppositions and helps us analyze and appraise our beliefs about justice, rights, and morality. Those of us who work with animals know that animals, particularly companion animals, can be wonderful to relate with, that they possess unique beauty and value, and that they enrich our lives and the world in which we live. In the strict biological sense, human beings are animals too, but in the broader sense, human beings are much more than animals. The life of a man, woman, or child is worth far more than the life of a mouse, rat, dog, or monkey.
我试图表明，动物和人类的不同特质确实与道德规则及权利的推导相关，包括基于理性和功利主义确立的权利。我们人类物种成员的特殊权利并非仅仅是人类主宰和自身利益的结果。我还试图表明，权利源自价值观，而我们最为珍视的特质往往是那些将人类与其他物种区分开来的特质。我坚持认为，相较于动物的生命，给予人类生命更多价值，与我们大多数人形成的常识观念达成了反思平衡。由于功利主义、契约主义以及康德和亚里士多德的古典哲学方法都可能允许将人类利益置于动物利益之上，所以怀疑动物权利活动家持有狭隘、极端的观点似乎是合理的。有许多独特的人类经历，我们赋予其很高的价值——深厚的人际关系、实现人生目标、享受诸如戏剧或歌剧这样的复杂文化活动，或者创作一部手稿。因此，关于动物的社会和伦理考量完全以生物连续性的概念为中心，这似乎是不恰当的，因为存在许多人类经历——道德、宗教、审美及其他方面的经历——似乎超出了生物学的范畴。关于动物生物学的知识有助于我们就对它们的义务做出道德决策。那么，为什么在欧洲、美国乃至全世界有大量动物权利活动家不同意我的结论呢？某些惯常的思维方式可能会助长拟人化，并将动物利益等同于人类利益。某些形而上学的信仰，比如对轮回转世的信仰，也可能支持动物权利。也有可能一些人正被一个规模较小、更为激进的少数群体欺骗和误导。我认为，对动物权利原则的坚持也可能源于一种严格自然主义的世界观。如果伦理探究严格基于自然主义而没有价值和善的标准，那么或许给予动物与人类相同权利的极端观点是那些前提的逻辑结果；然而，我不清楚一个人是否能在内在保持一致并仍然坚持那些信念。道德信念并非直接源于我所讨论的伦理框架。伦理学研究只是照亮我们的推定和假设，并帮助我们分析和评估我们关于正义、权利和道德的信念。我们这些与动物打交道的人知道，动物，尤其是伴侣动物，相处起来很棒，它们拥有独特的美和价值，它们丰富了我们的生活以及我们生活的世界。从严格的生物学意义上讲，人类也是动物，但从更广泛的意义上讲，人类远不止是动物。一个男人、女人或孩子的生命远比一只老鼠、大鼠、狗或猴子的生命更有价值。
