Speciesism

The notion of speciesism has been central to animal ethics since the mid-1970s. This chapter explores three issues that it raises. First, in response to the conceptual question “What exactly is speciesism?,” I argue that speciesism is best defined as discrimination on the basis of species membership. Second, in response to the empirical question “Does speciesism exist?,” I argue that most people do discriminate on the basis of species membership. Third, in response to the moral question “Can speciesism be justified morally?,” I argue that it cannot. If all this is on the right track, it follows that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way we treat animals.