Utilitarianism and Animal Rights

Animal Rights

Throughout history morality has been a topic of intense debate. Innumerable thinkers have devoted immense amounts of time and energy to the formulation of various ethical theories intended to assist humans in their daily lives. These theories set out guidelines which help to determine the rightness or wrongness of any given action and can therefore illuminate which choice would be morally beneficial. And while many of these theories differ substantially, most have at least one common underlying principle, namely that humans deserve to be treated with a certain level of respect. This idea comes from the belief that all humans have interests which are significant enough to be considered, hence no one should impede another from fulfilling their own individual interests. Yet recently a new controversy has emerged at the forefront of ethical debate, the status of animals within our distinctly human-oriented world. For thousands of years man has used animals as nothing more than a mere means, raising and slaughtering them for food, hunting them for food as well as sport, and more recently using them as test subjects to ensure an assortment of products are safe for use by humans. However, as time has passed and the overall level of enlightenment within our societies has increased, many have begun to question these aforementioned practices, maintaining that animals, like humans have interests and therefore should have the ability to seek the satisfaction inherent in attaining those interests. The answer reached in regards to this question varies immensely depending on the specific ethical theory utilized. Some theories dictate that only humans should receive moral consideration, while other wish to extend this consideration towards not only animals but inanimate objects as well. For the purpose of this essay I will examine the issue of animal rights from both a utilitarian and a Kantian perspective. I intend