Moral Concern for Nonhuman Animals

Excerpts from the Paper

Abstract
Historically, there has been some debate between Kantian and Utilitarian philosophers on the moral status of animals. Both these philosophical camps have opposing views regarding this moral status. However, it is possible to conclude that no meaningful distinction can be made between humans and non-human animals. For this reason, it is untenable to suggest humans occupy a morally superior position to non-human animals.
Moral Concern for Nonhuman Animals
There is great philosophical debate over whether or not moral consideration should be granted to nonhuman animals. Many argue that there is a resolution to this debate that can be used to firmly distinguish human beings from all other animals on the planet. But, as we shall see,...

.....tions are built (Gruen, 2003). Within this larger context, both the Kantian and Utilitarian positions can be seen as justifications (to vastly different degrees) for a culture of dominance that projects its will onto the entire world. It may be instructive in future considerations of this issue to not simply question whether or not nonhuman animals deserve the same moral consideration as human beings, but whether or not human beings have any moral authority in the first place to dictate such concerns and arbitrarily impose their will on the world.
References
Gruen, L. (2003). The moral status of animals. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University. Retrieved January 30, 2010, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-animal/