Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Philosophy - Essay Exampleaffected by an action ar to be taken into account and given the same weight as the like interests of any other being.3 As a result, no distinction is to be made between the rights of sympathetic beings and the right of animals, and according invidious treatment to human beings as opposed to animals would be morally and ethically a wrong principle.However, the straits that arises in this context is, can animals be ascribed a moral status that is equal to human beings? They are sentient beings just like us and they also feel pain, therefore it would be morally and ethically wrong to kill them or cause them pain. Should they then be accorded equal consideration as human beings in terms of the rights that are accorded to them?Singer has defined specicism as a prejudice or lieu of bias towards the interests of members of ones own species and against those of members of other species.4 As a result, human beings get into a double standard, whereby human bein gs are accorded a privileged moral status while non universe are not. According to Wise, human rights are a function of human autonomy, which implies a high direct of moral reasoning, and such autonomy cannot exist independently of human dignity.5 Since animals do not possess this causation to reason and make moral choice, this implies that they are on a plane that is inferior to human beings.Cohen argues that a person who is entitled to a right should be in a position to recognise thinkable conflicts between what is in their own interest and what is just. Only in a community of beings capable of egotism restricting moral understandings can the concept of a right be correctly invoked. On this basis, he also rejects Singers argument which argues for animals to have equal rights, on the basis that mentally regressive human beings are incapable of moral judgments and yet are accorded rights. Cohen states instead that the test for moral judgment cannot be one that is administered to humans one by one.6