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RorySkaggsFirstPaper 13 - 05 Jun 2010 - Main.RorySkaggs
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| | | The Human Cost | |
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< | This is just one of many examples of how animals affect our lives (if you're interested, there are many others here, here, here, here, and here). Some of these are externalities imposed by animal industries on the rest of society, others are psychological effects which we only partially understand. The point is that how we as humans use and interact with the rest of the animal world both shapes our world and shapes ourselves in ways which we cannot ignore. (If you're looking for an example, think about this: is it wholly surprising that a society which condones widespread torture of animals could come up with justifications for torturing humans? And is it possible that there could be some psychological connections (the proverbial 'slippery slope'?)) | >
> | This is just one of many examples of how animals affect our lives (if you're interested, there are many others here, here, here, here, and here). Some of these are externalities imposed by animal industries on the rest of society, others are psychological effects which we only partially understand. The point is that how we as humans use and interact with the rest of the animal world both shapes our world and shapes us in complicated and complex ways. (For instance, is it possible that a society which condones widespread torture of animals could justify torturing humans? Perhaps there is a psychological 'slippery slope'?)) | | | | |
<
< | How we farm, how we fish, how we make clothes, how we raise pets- each interaction ripples outwards with consequences (intended or otherwise) that crash into every other wave in a complex web of causes and effects, and the better we try to understand and manage this interconnectedness between ourselves and the other living things around us, the better chance we have at meeting our own needs along with the needs of our future generations. | >
> | How we farm, how we fish, how we make clothes, how we raise pets- each interaction ripples outwards with consequences (intended and not) that crash into every other wave in an intricate web of causes and effects, and the better we try to understand and manage this interconnectedness between ourselves and the other living things around us, the better chance we have at meeting our own needs along with the needs of our future generations. | | | Animals and the Law
Why We Have It | |
<
< | So why does law need to live here? The most obvious reason is animals cannot protect themselves or control how we use them. Like many other areas of law restricting or controlling our actions, in the short-term we essentially must protect us from ourselves. The old paradigm was to use resources until nearly or completely extinct (be it dodos or oil), but we've come to realize that this is not sustainable. As we learn, we must ask questions. If factory farming hurts more than it helps, how can we improve it? If animal abuse leads to human abuse, how can we combat it? Sometimes the law is necessary as a brake to the over-consumption of resources unique to the human species, and sometimes it might be a way to prevent the psychological traumas that lead to violent or anti-social behavior. Either way, it must constantly be fine-tuned as we learn about the relationships between humans, animals and the earth. | >
> | So why does law need to live here? The most obvious reason is animals cannot protect themselves or control how we use them. The old paradigm was to use resources until nearly or completely extinct (be it dodos or oil), but we've come to realize that this is not sustainable. As we learn, we must ask questions. If factory farming hurts more than it helps, how can we improve it? If animal abuse leads to human abuse, how can we combat it? Sometimes the law is necessary as a brake to the over-consumption of resources unique to the human species, and sometimes it might be a way to prevent the psychological traumas that lead to violent or anti-social behavior. Either way, it should constantly be adjusted and reevaluated as we learn about the relationships between humans, animals and the earth. | | | Where it Fits In | |
<
< | This is not to say that 'animal law' is the only means to this end, nor should it be. Most problems on a global scale are exceedingly complex and require strategies from myriad areas, and animal issues are no different. Environmental, land use, international trade, human rights, labor and employment- the list of areas which touch animal issues are numerous. Thus, to question why animal advocates do what they do, why they would 'defend' animals, is to miss the point. Whether or not one thinks this is the most important problem we face, or the one they want to work on, is irrelevant in the grand scheme. No matter what your stance on the issues or how to handle them, the only important question is how do we move forward, knowing what we know about the interdependency of life, in a way which sustains our viability and continued prosperity on Earth. | >
> | This is not to say that 'animal law' is the only means to this end, nor should it be. Most problems on a global scale are exceedingly complex and require strategies from myriad areas, and animal issues are no different. Environmental, land use, international trade, human rights, labor and employment, consumer protection- the list of areas which touch animal issues are numerous. Thus, to question why animal advocates do what they do, why they would 'defend' animals, is to miss the point. Whether or not one thinks this is the most important problem we face, or the one they want to work on, is irrelevant. No matter what your stance on the issues or how to handle them, the only important question is how do we move forward, knowing what we know about the interdependency of life, in a way which sustains our viability and continued prosperity on Earth. | | | | |
<
< | Law can only be a piece of the puzzle- personal choices play at least as big a role- but crafting the rules within which we operate is essential to shaping the road ahead. And while we are restricted to only this planet on which to live, it is a road we all must travel. Anybody interested in the best way to go on living can lend a hand, and as long as we need other animals, those who represent them should be welcomed on board. | >
> | Law can only be a piece of the puzzle- personal choices play at least as big a role- but crafting the rules within which we operate is essential to shaping the road ahead. And until we move to the Moon or Mars, it's a road we all must travel. | | | Conclusion | |
<
< | "Humans are more important than animals." Ok, fine. Let's worry about how animals affect us then. See above. "We have more important problems to deal with than animals." That doesn't make it not a problem, and any problem is worth solving. "Who cares about animals, what's the big deal? You people are crazy." The 'crazy' probably comes from disagreeing with some organization's tactics, but strategies to solve a problem are different than the necessity to do so. Not everyone will be convinced that any single animal cruelty case or factory farm is a problem, or indeed has any effect. But en masse, it is hard to deny that our attitudes and actions towards animals shape us as much as we shape them, even if we don't know how. And while we're learning, we must use this knowledge to make informed choices about how we manage our inter-species relationships, both for our own individual well-beings and the well-being of the big, interwoven blue marble we inhabit. Our big brains have put a lot of power in our hands-- it is up to us whether or not we use it wisely. | >
> | "Humans are more important than animals." Ok, fine. Let's worry about how animals affect us then. See above. "We have more important problems to deal with than animals." That doesn't make it not a problem, and any problem is worth solving. "Who cares about animals, what's the big deal? You people are crazy." The 'crazy' probably comes from disagreeing with some organization's tactics, but strategies to solve a problem are different than the necessity to do so. Not everyone will be convinced that any single animal cruelty case or factory farm is a problem, or indeed has any effect. But en masse, it is hard to deny that our attitudes and actions towards animals shape us as much as we shape them, even if we don't know how. And while we're learning, we should use this knowledge to make informed choices about how we manage these relationships, both for our own individual well-beings and the well-being of everyone and everything on Earth. Our big brains have put a lot of power in our hands-- it is up to us whether or not we use it wisely. | | |
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< | I'm curious to see how I continue to edit this as I work this summer at an animal rights organization. I hope some other people out there wrote papers that relate to what they will be doing over the summer, and so they can engage in the same process.
-- RorySkaggs - 02 May 2010 | | |
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RorySkaggsFirstPaper 12 - 02 May 2010 - Main.RorySkaggs
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| | | "Humans are more important than animals." Ok, fine. Let's worry about how animals affect us then. See above. "We have more important problems to deal with than animals." That doesn't make it not a problem, and any problem is worth solving. "Who cares about animals, what's the big deal? You people are crazy." The 'crazy' probably comes from disagreeing with some organization's tactics, but strategies to solve a problem are different than the necessity to do so. Not everyone will be convinced that any single animal cruelty case or factory farm is a problem, or indeed has any effect. But en masse, it is hard to deny that our attitudes and actions towards animals shape us as much as we shape them, even if we don't know how. And while we're learning, we must use this knowledge to make informed choices about how we manage our inter-species relationships, both for our own individual well-beings and the well-being of the big, interwoven blue marble we inhabit. Our big brains have put a lot of power in our hands-- it is up to us whether or not we use it wisely.
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I'm curious to see how I continue to edit this as I work this summer at an animal rights organization. I hope some other people out there wrote papers that relate to what they will be doing over the summer, and so they can engage in the same process.
-- RorySkaggs - 02 May 2010 | | | |
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RorySkaggsFirstPaper 11 - 22 Apr 2010 - Main.RorySkaggs
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="FirstPaper" |
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| | | The Human Cost | |
<
< | This is just one of many examples of how animals affect our lives (if you're interested, there are many others here, here, here, here, and here). Some of these are externalities imposed by animal industries on the rest of society, others are psychological effects which we only partially understand. The point is that how we as humans use and interact with the rest of the animal world both shapes our world and shapes ourselves in ways which we cannot ignore. How we farm, how we fish, how we make clothes, how we raise pets- each interaction ripples outwards with consequences (intended or otherwise) that crash into every other wave in a complex web of causes and effects, and the better we try to understand and manage this interconnectedness between ourselves and the other living things around us, the better chance we have at meeting our own needs along with the needs of our future generations. | >
> | This is just one of many examples of how animals affect our lives (if you're interested, there are many others here, here, here, here, and here). Some of these are externalities imposed by animal industries on the rest of society, others are psychological effects which we only partially understand. The point is that how we as humans use and interact with the rest of the animal world both shapes our world and shapes ourselves in ways which we cannot ignore. (If you're looking for an example, think about this: is it wholly surprising that a society which condones widespread torture of animals could come up with justifications for torturing humans? And is it possible that there could be some psychological connections (the proverbial 'slippery slope'?))
How we farm, how we fish, how we make clothes, how we raise pets- each interaction ripples outwards with consequences (intended or otherwise) that crash into every other wave in a complex web of causes and effects, and the better we try to understand and manage this interconnectedness between ourselves and the other living things around us, the better chance we have at meeting our own needs along with the needs of our future generations. | | | Animals and the Law |
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RorySkaggsFirstPaper 10 - 21 Apr 2010 - Main.RorySkaggs
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| | | "Humans are more important than animals." "We have more important problems to deal with than animals." "Who cares about animals, what's the big deal? You people are crazy." These are some of the most common criticisms levied at animal advocates. Are they true? And more importantly, does it matter? Even if they are true, where does that leave us? | |
<
< | Section I
The Cove | >
> | The Cove | | | The Oscar-winning documentary film The Cove explores the annual dolphin sale/slaughter off the coast of a small Japanese town. Why was it made? First, Ric O'Barry, the film's protagonist and former Flipper dolphin trainer, is trying to repent for (in his mind) creating a destructive industry. Second, as evidenced by the recent incident at SeaWorld, there is debate whether capturing these wild marine mammals for entertainment purposes is appropriate. Third, there are questions of what toll the slaughter will take on dolphin populations, and whether we should be killing such highly intelligent animals in the first place. But there was a different reason why the filmmakers felt the people of Japan should really be concerned. What was it?
The toxic levels of mercury in the dolphin meat being secretly fed to Japanese schoolchildren. | |
<
< | The Human Cost
This is just one of many examples of how animals affect our lives. When animals come up, most people initially envision companion animals-- dogs, cats, etc. But they don't realize the many ways our relationships with these animals affect us; numerous studies have linked animal cruelty to child abuse, domestic violence and elder abuse, the FBI has linked animal cruelty and serial killers, and the American Psychiatric Association uses animal cruelty as a main factor in determining conduct disorder. But it's not just pets. Factory farming of cows, pigs and chickens have profound effects on humans and our environment. These farms are a leading cause of groundwater pollution, air pollution, soil degradation, limited water supplies, and global warming. They also affect humans directly, through loss of local farms/jobs, increased cancer rates, various disease outbreaks, and antibiotic resistance. Factory farming even affects the real concern at dinnertime: taste. | >
> | The Human Cost | | | | |
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< | In economics-speak, these are called 'externalities.' Like any other big business selling a product, we are convinced low prices are all that matters. In the meantime, society as a whole suffers the costs which corporations need not bear, because we are too busy 'protecting' our animal industries to notice our own suffering. This probably happens in part because of sheer ignorance of these costs, as the trend in animal industries from livelihood to business has made these processes invisible to most people. | >
> | This is just one of many examples of how animals affect our lives (if you're interested, there are many others here, here, here, here, and here). Some of these are externalities imposed by animal industries on the rest of society, others are psychological effects which we only partially understand. The point is that how we as humans use and interact with the rest of the animal world both shapes our world and shapes ourselves in ways which we cannot ignore. How we farm, how we fish, how we make clothes, how we raise pets- each interaction ripples outwards with consequences (intended or otherwise) that crash into every other wave in a complex web of causes and effects, and the better we try to understand and manage this interconnectedness between ourselves and the other living things around us, the better chance we have at meeting our own needs along with the needs of our future generations. | | | | |
<
< | Section II | >
> | Animals and the Law | | | | |
<
< | Animals and the Law | >
> | Why We Have It | | | | |
<
< | So why does law need to live here? The most obvious reason is animals cannot protect themselves or control how we use them. Like many other areas of law restricting or controlling our actions, we essentially must protect us from ourselves. The old paradigm was to use resources until nearly or completely extinct (be it dodos or oil), but we've come to realize that this is not sustainable. Thus, the law is necessary as a brake to the over-consumption of resources unique to the human species, a brake we can fine-tune as we begin to understand the relationship between humans, animals and the earth. | >
> | So why does law need to live here? The most obvious reason is animals cannot protect themselves or control how we use them. Like many other areas of law restricting or controlling our actions, in the short-term we essentially must protect us from ourselves. The old paradigm was to use resources until nearly or completely extinct (be it dodos or oil), but we've come to realize that this is not sustainable. As we learn, we must ask questions. If factory farming hurts more than it helps, how can we improve it? If animal abuse leads to human abuse, how can we combat it? Sometimes the law is necessary as a brake to the over-consumption of resources unique to the human species, and sometimes it might be a way to prevent the psychological traumas that lead to violent or anti-social behavior. Either way, it must constantly be fine-tuned as we learn about the relationships between humans, animals and the earth. | | | | |
<
< | In fact, the commercialization of animal industries alone is enough to warrant regulation and legal restraints. Many corporations seek to impose as many costs on others while retaining most of the benefits, and the law is an important tool to monitor and minimize these costs, or at least redistribute them back to their creators. Despite often daunting legal and political odds against them, 'animal' lawyers continue to nibble at the edges, slowly breaking down barriers of misunderstanding and reigning in the practices which harm us all. | >
> | Where it Fits In | | | | |
<
< | Animals and Morality | >
> | This is not to say that 'animal law' is the only means to this end, nor should it be. Most problems on a global scale are exceedingly complex and require strategies from myriad areas, and animal issues are no different. Environmental, land use, international trade, human rights, labor and employment- the list of areas which touch animal issues are numerous. Thus, to question why animal advocates do what they do, why they would 'defend' animals, is to miss the point. Whether or not one thinks this is the most important problem we face, or the one they want to work on, is irrelevant in the grand scheme. No matter what your stance on the issues or how to handle them, the only important question is how do we move forward, knowing what we know about the interdependency of life, in a way which sustains our viability and continued prosperity on Earth. | | | | |
<
< | Notice the lack of morals, ethics or even the animals themselves in the discussion. None of these concerns are necessary to understand the importance of animals in our lives. One need not believe in Schweitzer's Reverence for Life, nor the ahimsa of Hinduism and Jainism, nor even the Biblical dominion given man in the Book of Genesis-- one could hate animals and want nothing to do with them. But the reality is the earth needs animals to exist, and as humans we need to manage and regulate our interactions with them. Many animal advocates participate because of their commitment to protect animals, but nobody needs to have any interest in doing the work to realize the work needs to be done. You don't need to have a dog to know that animals are a major part of our world that should be handled wisely. Just ask Wayne Pacelle, the highly influential president of The Humane Society of the United States: “I don’t have a hands-on fondness for animals…To this day I don’t feel bonded to any non-human animal. I like them and I pet them and I’m kind to them, but there’s no special bond between me and other animals.” | >
> | Law can only be a piece of the puzzle- personal choices play at least as big a role- but crafting the rules within which we operate is essential to shaping the road ahead. And while we are restricted to only this planet on which to live, it is a road we all must travel. Anybody interested in the best way to go on living can lend a hand, and as long as we need other animals, those who represent them should be welcomed on board. | | | Conclusion | |
<
< | "Humans are more important than animals." Ok, fine. Let's worry about how animals affect us then. See above. "We have more important problems to deal with than animals." That doesn't make it not a problem. So for the few who choose to solve it, we might try to appreciate their work. "Who cares about animals, what's the big deal? You people are crazy." The 'crazy' probably comes from disagreeing with some organization's tactics, but strategies to solve a problem are different than the necessity to do so. The facts laid out above are not meant to change anybody's habits or make them support a cause. This is no appeal to the 'thinking man,' and anyways a single video on an animal groups' website is probably infinitely more effective than all the facts in the world. The point is that our relationships with animals have widespread effects which cannot be ignored by everyone, and we should think twice before we write off those who choose to see-- they might just be doing us all a favor.
It seems to me that this
essay takes a good starting point and stretches it thin. Your thesis
can be put in a sentence: human concern for animal welfare is an
ecological matter, involving not just particular organisms, but the
welfare of all interconnected living things, including people.
That's a premise, and the point of the essay ought not to be to prove
it, or indeed to argue for it, but rather to show where it leads.
Those who incline to dispute the premise may be interested, or even
convinced by the consequences. But instead of developing the idea,
to bring new and more adventurous ideas forth from it, you descend
from it, and in the end wind up with a conclusion that could be put
at two sentences distance from the thesis without loss of meaning.
In revision, you should push the argument outward, away from the
premise and towards new horizons, rather than towards the smallest
objections you can find to vanquish. | >
> | "Humans are more important than animals." Ok, fine. Let's worry about how animals affect us then. See above. "We have more important problems to deal with than animals." That doesn't make it not a problem, and any problem is worth solving. "Who cares about animals, what's the big deal? You people are crazy." The 'crazy' probably comes from disagreeing with some organization's tactics, but strategies to solve a problem are different than the necessity to do so. Not everyone will be convinced that any single animal cruelty case or factory farm is a problem, or indeed has any effect. But en masse, it is hard to deny that our attitudes and actions towards animals shape us as much as we shape them, even if we don't know how. And while we're learning, we must use this knowledge to make informed choices about how we manage our inter-species relationships, both for our own individual well-beings and the well-being of the big, interwoven blue marble we inhabit. Our big brains have put a lot of power in our hands-- it is up to us whether or not we use it wisely. | | | | |
>
> |
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RorySkaggsFirstPaper 9 - 06 Apr 2010 - Main.EbenMoglen
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="FirstPaper" |
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| | | "Humans are more important than animals." Ok, fine. Let's worry about how animals affect us then. See above. "We have more important problems to deal with than animals." That doesn't make it not a problem. So for the few who choose to solve it, we might try to appreciate their work. "Who cares about animals, what's the big deal? You people are crazy." The 'crazy' probably comes from disagreeing with some organization's tactics, but strategies to solve a problem are different than the necessity to do so. The facts laid out above are not meant to change anybody's habits or make them support a cause. This is no appeal to the 'thinking man,' and anyways a single video on an animal groups' website is probably infinitely more effective than all the facts in the world. The point is that our relationships with animals have widespread effects which cannot be ignored by everyone, and we should think twice before we write off those who choose to see-- they might just be doing us all a favor.
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>
> | It seems to me that this
essay takes a good starting point and stretches it thin. Your thesis
can be put in a sentence: human concern for animal welfare is an
ecological matter, involving not just particular organisms, but the
welfare of all interconnected living things, including people.
That's a premise, and the point of the essay ought not to be to prove
it, or indeed to argue for it, but rather to show where it leads.
Those who incline to dispute the premise may be interested, or even
convinced by the consequences. But instead of developing the idea,
to bring new and more adventurous ideas forth from it, you descend
from it, and in the end wind up with a conclusion that could be put
at two sentences distance from the thesis without loss of meaning.
In revision, you should push the argument outward, away from the
premise and towards new horizons, rather than towards the smallest
objections you can find to vanquish. | | |
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