We cannot determine our responsibilities to other animals until we properly understand the reasons for the emergence of animal life. This chapter explores the uniqueness of Earth’s animal kingdom in the universe and asks why other animals of superior intelligence have not contacted us—the Fermi paradox. Animals are distinguishable from other life forms and inanimate, physical entities by well-known but imprecise attributes, such as the sources of food, the ability to move, etc. The emergence of animal life on our planet is, to the best of our knowledge, unique, at least to the extent that there are no extraterrestrial animal life forms that are known to us. This means we should value Earth’s animal life even more highly than if life were common on lots of planets. From an animal ethics perspective, an important question is why early life developed into the complex sentient animal life forms existing today. The ability to morph into different forms is important to successful colonisation of environments that vary in time and space. Earth is constantly exposed to geological disturbances, and there are both random and rhythmical variations in climate because of the Earth’s tilt and external influences, such as space weather. Life forms are most likely to emerge in places where there exists a high level of disequilibria, but changes in the environment over time may have been the prime driver for the emergence of reproduction, as this gave animals a mechanism to adapt to a changing environment, particularly as a result of climatic variation. The unique nature of Earth’s animal life and its adherence to universal natural laws suggests a purposeful design that should drive immense respect for animal life. Respect for the natural world should not only be for highly sentient animals, since sentience is just a tool to help animals gain valuable information from their environments and thus improve their fitness. It should include respect for the diversity of the animal life that has evolved over four billion years. Respect for both less sentient and non-sentient animals and for maintaining animal and genetic integrity warrants serious consideration. Highly varied approaches worldwide to respect for animal life could usefully be harmonised to a standard approach where all animal life is respected for its uniqueness and crucial place in diverse ecosystems. This has major implications for how we should treat animals on Earth, including humans as an animal species.

Are Animals Alone in the Universe?

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2025年

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Clive Phillips

摘要

We cannot determine our responsibilities to other animals until we properly understand the reasons for the emergence of animal life. This chapter explores the uniqueness of Earth’s animal kingdom in the universe and asks why other animals of superior intelligence have not contacted us—the Fermi paradox. Animals are distinguishable from other life forms and inanimate, physical entities by well-known but imprecise attributes, such as the sources of food, the ability to move, etc. The emergence of animal life on our planet is, to the best of our knowledge, unique, at least to the extent that there are no extraterrestrial animal life forms that are known to us. This means we should value Earth’s animal life even more highly than if life were common on lots of planets. From an animal ethics perspective, an important question is why early life developed into the complex sentient animal life forms existing today. The ability to morph into different forms is important to successful colonisation of environments that vary in time and space. Earth is constantly exposed to geological disturbances, and there are both random and rhythmical variations in climate because of the Earth’s tilt and external influences, such as space weather. Life forms are most likely to emerge in places where there exists a high level of disequilibria, but changes in the environment over time may have been the prime driver for the emergence of reproduction, as this gave animals a mechanism to adapt to a changing environment, particularly as a result of climatic variation. The unique nature of Earth’s animal life and its adherence to universal natural laws suggests a purposeful design that should drive immense respect for animal life. Respect for the natural world should not only be for highly sentient animals, since sentience is just a tool to help animals gain valuable information from their environments and thus improve their fitness. It should include respect for the diversity of the animal life that has evolved over four billion years. Respect for both less sentient and non-sentient animals and for maintaining animal and genetic integrity warrants serious consideration. Highly varied approaches worldwide to respect for animal life could usefully be harmonised to a standard approach where all animal life is respected for its uniqueness and crucial place in diverse ecosystems. This has major implications for how we should treat animals on Earth, including humans as an animal species.