Valuing animals as they are—Whether they feel it or not
Cheryl Abbate
Abstract
Abstract Dressing up animals in ridiculous costumes, shaming dogs on the internet, playing Big Buck Hunter at the local tavern, feeding vegan food to cats, and producing and consuming “knockout” animals, what, if anything, do these acts have in common? In this article, I develop two respect‐based arguments that explain how these acts are morally problematic, even though they might not always, if ever, affect the experiential welfare of animals. While these acts are not ordinary wrongs, they are animal dignitary wrongs.
Topics & Concepts
RidiculousEnvironmental ethicsAnimal welfareSentienceAffect (linguistics)SociologyAestheticsSocial psychologyEpistemologyPsychologyPhilosophyCommunicationBiologyEcologyPsychology of Moral and Emotional JudgmentTheology and Philosophy of EvilFree Will and Agency