Ethics Before Darwin

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Ethics Before Darwin
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Human Dignity

• The Idea of Human Dignity
• Human life is sacred.
• We must protect human life and respect the lives
  and interests of human beings.
• Nonhuman life is not sacred.
• We may use animals as we see fit.

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Aristotle(384-322 BC)

• To understand anything, ask four questions
• 1. What is it?
• 2. What is it made of?
• 3. Where did it come from?
• 4. What is its purpose?

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We must believe, first that plants exist for
the sake of animals, second that all other
animals exist for the sake of man, tame animals
for the use he can make of them as well as for
the food they provide and as for wild animals,
most though not all of these can be used for food
or are useful in other ways clothing and
instruments can be made out of them. If then we
are right in believing that nature makes nothing
without some end in view, nothing to no purpose,
it must be that nature has made all things
specifically for the sake of man. --Aristotle,
Physics
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And God said, Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and
over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth. (Genesis 126)
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The Greeks and Romans approved infanticide
approved suicide approved mercy-killing
approved combat approved executions
The early Christians . . . condemned all killing
of human beings. murder infanticide
suicide mercy-killing capital punishment
killing by soldiers
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Some time around 325 AD, something happened.
The Roman Emperor, Constantine, becomes a
Christian.
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Acceptable killings
Unacceptable killings

• murder
• infanticide
• suicide
• mercy-killing

• capital punishment
• soldiers in battle

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St. Augustine (354-430) The intentional
killing of innocent humans is always wrong.
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What about killing in self-defense?
Augustine Although the state may kill to defend
itself, individuals may not.
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Killing of
necessity, in individual self-defense, is not the
intentional killing of the innocent, and it is
permitted.
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Aquinas on nonhuman animals
Hereby is refuted the error of those who said it
is sinful for a man to kill dumb animals for by
divine providence they are intended for mans use
in the natural order. Hence it is no wrong for
man to make use of them, either by killing them
or in any other way whatever.
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Aquinas again
If any passages of Holy Writ seem to forbid us to
be cruel to dumb animals, for instance to kill a
bird with its young this is either to remove
mans thoughts from being cruel to other men, and
lest through being cruel to animals one becomes
cruel to human beings or because injury to an
animal leads to the temporal hurt of man, either
the doer of the deed, or of another.
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Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Animals cannot think they have no conscious
experiences they do not even feel pain.
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A human being has two parts
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They administered beatings to dogs with perfect
indifference, and made fun of those who pitied
the creatures as if they felt pain. They said
the animals were clocks that the cries they
emitted when struck were only the noise of a
little spring that had been touched, but that the
whole body was without feeling. They nailed poor
animals up on boards by their four paws to
vivisect them and see the circulation of the
blood which was a great subject of
conversation. --Nicholas Fontaine (1738)