Animal Exploitation and the Status of Humankind in the World

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  • 動物の利用と世界における人間の地位
  • ドウブツ ノ リヨウ ト セカイ ニ オケル ニンゲン ノ チイ

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Abstract

Animal advocates are divided on the understanding of the position of humanity in the world; rightists regard Homo sapiens just as one species in the animal kingdom, whereas welfarists maintain that humans stand at the pinnacle of the hierarchy of life. This paper aims to offer some arguments against the latter view. 　First, the concept of human supremacy is based on Judeo-Christian values,which despite their long tradition in Western society, are not universal and can be seen as preposterous in other cultural settings such as premodern Japan. Second, some welfarists assume that denying humans a special status degrades human dignity and undermines universal human rights. However,as the histories of colonialism, slavery and racism in Christian countries have demonstrated, human exceptionalism does not guarantee that the rights of every person will be protected. Third, our anthropocentric practices have already started to endanger the very survival of humanity on this planet.

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