Humans are not superior to animals and the notion of survival for the fittest is a not an excuse for the mistreatment and violation of the rights of animals. This is not to suggest that animals should have equal rights with humans, but they should have some privileges which discourage abuse from humans. Humans have a higher intellect than humans. Therefore, they have devised better and advanced ways of harnessing natural resources for their benefit. However, having a larger brain in humans and having larger tusks is the same thing in elephants and therefore it is just another quirk (Dudley, 2006). One of the primary issues which came with the ability to dominate is the ability to harness and bend nature to one’s urges in a more efficient way than others. Humans have advanced in this and animals have not evolved at the same pace as humans, and therefore, there is no match in the intellectual capacity of both species.
The essence that can be understood is that animals have the ability to harness nature to their survival and continuation of their species. Left out is their ambition to have luxury and pleasure which is an aspect which controls and dominates the lives of humans. Therefore, animals simply lack the same interest which is shared among humans, because as animals compete for the perpetuation of offspring for the next generation among themselves, humans are competing who is better positioned to control both animals and fellow humans (Mack, 2012). It is not survival of the fittest in the animal world, but it is survival of the fittest among the humans themselves and against the world. It can be understood that animals have the same purpose of living among themselves, but humans have diverse and complex purposes of living in the world. Animals simply lack the necessary negotiation skills such as the verbal advantage which humans have, but they have their purposes for living which are different to those of humans.
Therefore, it is not reasonable for animals to have the same rights as humans but they can be bequeathed several rights and privileges which would make their survival possible. Nature has its way of maintaining the ecosystem and balance between animals themselves. According to Dudley, (2006) it can be determined that some animals which are extinct now such as the Dodo or Mammoths are as a result to being decimated by humans not being preyed by fellow animals of the lower intellectual capacity. Singer, (1974) argues that the conditions which animals are kept are not conducive for optimum reproduction and perpetuation of worthyoffsprings. These animals are not given a chance to develop well or form palpable muscle resulting in weak reproduction. Therefore, humans have contributed negatively to the existence of animals and the harmony which is in the ecosystem.
There is a sense in which animals should be equated right such as the right to live, freedom of movement and the right not to be misused by humans. Also, the well-being of humans should not be paramount to those of animals, and therefore the tag of survival for the fittest is a self-conscious aspect (Mack, 2012). One of the primary concerns which should be paramount with humans is to ensure that all species are treated with an equal measure where there is harmony to the ecosystem. Being able to manipulate nature and its element does not give humans the right to violate the survival privileges accosted to animals by nature itself. Singer (1974) argues that there should be a healthy interdependence between humans and animals and the self-interested behavior in humans should not be the aspect used as a standard for the survival or intellectual capacity. Mack, (2012) observed that there are other aspects which humans are inferior to other animals such as physical strength, speed or sensory abilities but they use them for necessary survival but not infringing on the lives of others.
Ultimately, humans should not slaughter animals for the purposes of satiating their taste buds or the products of animals. It is morally wrong and unjustifiable to take life to be a means towards an end of someone’s self-interests. Also, having a superior intellect does not that humans have to decimate other animals in the world and infringe on their abilities for survival. Survival of the fittest is a self-serving notion with the sole purpose of giving one species the ability to dominate over the others.
references
Dudley, W. (2006). Animal Rights. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Greenhaven Press.
Mack, G. (2012). Animal Rights. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.
Comments