Speciesism

Abstract

Speciesism is discrimination against members of other species, giving sentient beings differing moral consideration for unjust reasons. Discrimination constitutes unjustified differential moral consideration, where the interests of individuals are unequally weighed. While moral consideration can extend to non-sentient entities, it primarily applies to conscious beings. Speciesism manifests as treating all nonhuman animals worse than humans or treating some species worse than others. Discrimination often leads to exploitation, where individuals are used as resources despite potential awareness of their suffering. Arguments against speciesism include those from species overlap, relevance, and impartiality, while common defenses rely on species membership or differing intelligence. However, these defenses are arbitrary and fail to justify discrimination when applied to human characteristics like cognitive ability. The capacity for positive and negative experiences, not species membership or intelligence, should be the basis of moral consideration. Widespread speciesism stems from ingrained beliefs about animal inferiority and the benefits derived from animal exploitation. – AI-generated abstract.