Question:
Recently, on AnimalRights.net/quotes (page down), I read a quote that was said to be from you. This is the quote: "The life of an ant and that of my child should be granted equal consideration." This puzzles me. Do you have a child? You cannot walk through a single patch of grass without stepping on an ant or ants. This is the reason your quote confuses me so. How could you compare an ant to a child? Please explain. Thank you.
B.P., Washington, DC Apr 08, 2007
Answer:
I have three children who embrace my philosophy of giving all living beings equal and fair consideration. This is the only antidote to the unbridled human-centeredness that is at the root of so much suffering to other animals and to the destruction of the natural world. This quote of mine, widely used to discredit the animal-rights movement, is taken out of its original context, where I argue that it is enlightened self-interest to treat all living beings as we would have them treat us -- the Golden Rule. Equal consideration does not mean equal rights, since the interests of ants and my children are not the same. Nor does this egalitarian concept, which is the essence of democracy, imply that I value the life of an ant over the value of my own offspring. The life of an ant may have greater biological value to the ecology than any human, but the personal value of my own loved ones is greater to me than my own life. As for terms like animal rights and animal welfare, they can seem polarizing or patronizing.
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