Animal Rights

Humanism

There’s one thing we won’t agree on, and that’s the rights that animals should enjoy in relation to humans. Now, I am deeply convinced that humans are unique beings on earth, endowed with consciousness and memory, and the capacity to absorb and produce information, not least in the form of language.

That language can be preserved and maintained in literature. These are things that animals cannot do. Now, I’m not advocating for cruelty toward living beings—they deserve our respect and loving care from the creature toward creation. That is also what Scripture asks of us.

Revelation is founded on sacrifice. This goes back to Abraham and Isaac and forms the core of both the Bible and the Quran, where Isaac is called Ishmael, but that doesn’t matter. For Christians, there’s also the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Sacred history is steeped in the idea of sacrifices performed according to specific rituals.

The slaughter of an animal is permitted by religion, but subject to conditions, so as not to place guilt upon the slaughterer. We may eat meat because God gives us that right, provided we accept the prescribed rules. Now, much time has passed since Abraham, Christ, and Muhammad, and we no longer speak in prophetic terms.

Although Scripture still permeates our civilization, in modern times we have arrived at a more philosophical stance, with various schools of thought, but mine is called Humanism: every human being with all their gifts and talents, but also with flaws and shortcomings, is an individual who lays claim to the privileges of being human.

Fortunately, this includes the fact that you cannot be slaughtered and eaten. That is the great difference from animals. That doesn’t change the fact that we are probably entering an era in which we must all consume fewer and fewer animal products to ensure the survival of our species. I just wanted to discuss ethics here, not ecology, because that’s a different matter entirely.

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