Who Is a Person?
Animals: Tradition - Philosophy - Religion Article from All-Creatures.org
FROM
Stephen Kaufman, M.D., Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
Who Is a Person?
United States law recognizes humans as persons, which makes sense. In
addition, corporations are persons in the eye of the law, with the right to
sue and be sued. In other words, they can wrong other persons (including
other corporations) and be wronged. However, in the eyes of the law,
nonhumans are not persons. They do not have standing to sue other persons if
they are wronged in ways not proscribed by law. Further, they do not enjoy
the basic rights of a person, such as the right not to be physically abused
and killed. Should we regard nonhuman beings as persons?
I think that any individual who can be wronged should be regarded as a
person with basic legal rights. While certain rights such as freedom of
religion or the freedom to vote obviously must be restricted to humans, all
persons should have the right not to be abused or unnecessarily killed.
Which living beings should be regarded persons? I think those with feelings
– who can suffer and/or experience pleasure – are persons. I don’t think
there is any compelling evidence that plants can have such experiences, and
I don’t regard them as persons. I’m very skeptical that insects and mollusks
meet this criterion, but I think there is compelling evidence that birds,
reptiles, and fish do, as well as mammals.
If we are to work toward recognizing the personhood of nonhumans, I think it
would be helpful to refer to them as nonhuman persons I’m told that an
early, but perhaps not the first, reference to this term is in the book In
Defense of Dolphins (Blackwell Publishing, 2007), written by Thomas L.
White.]. Calling them “animals” seems to describe humans and nonhumans as
fundamentally different from each other, a view contradicted by both
biological science and Ecclesiastes (3:19). Consequently, I think it is
easier to justify abuse of “animals” than “nonhuman persons.”
I am also concerned about the effectiveness of the popular term “nonhuman animals” in part because it sometimes scandalizes those who deny that humans are animals. So, when possible, I will endeavor to use the term “nonhuman persons” whenever possible.
Go on to: Review Essay: The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen by Anthony Appiah
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Reflection on the Lectionary, Table of Contents
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