INTERSPECIFIC AND INTRASPECIFIC DISCRIMINATIONS: WHY THE COMPARISON NEEDS TO BE MADE

• Autor(a) principal: Cunha, Luciano Carlos
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Synesis (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://seer.ucp.br/seer/index.php/synesis/article/view/2080

Speciesism can be defined as discrimination against those who do not belong to a certain species(s). It is often objected to compare speciesism with discriminations that affect humans, such as racism, sexism, and ableism. There are also frequent objections to comparing the consequences of speciesism (e.g., exploitation over nonhuman animals) with the consequences of discriminations over humans (such as human slavery or the holocaust). In this paper I discuss three types of objections to such comparisons: (a) that they should not be made because some people might be offended by them; (b) that the compared cases are not analogous and; (c) that such comparisons might be counterproductive in combating speciesism. I will argue that: (a) there are no good reasons for anyone to be offended by such comparisons; (b) the compared cases are analogous and that; (c) such comparisons are essential not only to explain what speciesism is, but to combat it, as well as to combat other forms of discrimination.