Response: Autonomy as an Excuse for All-Too-Human Chauvinism

Abstract

In debating the question of animal liberation has been my experience, if! may paraphrase Frey, that most people feel that (normal) human life is ofa much higher quality than animal life and that since the value of life is a function of its quality, animal life does not have the same value as (normal) human life. Indeed, most people feel that we are something of a special or a privileged class against which the lives of others are viewed and their value assessed. I It is not surprising that we feel this way. As Donald Griffin has pointed out, it seems plausible that would be more likely to survive and reproduce if their beliefs included confident faith in their own superiority and the assurance that exploiting other species was normal and correct behavior.2 Historically, religion, literature, and philosophy have been extensively engaged in reinforcing this instinctual faith in the preeminent worth and privilege of humanity. It has been their task to find and warmly extol those things which distinguish us from those mere animals we want to drive off the land, kill, eat, wear, and otherwise exploit and destroy to fulfill our needs and wants. It has been their job to keep our consciences clear as we bestride the world, using our overwhelming might to take control, mold the world to satisfy our idea of the good life, and kill off those who stand in our way. Selffulfillment, accomplishing our plans, achieving our