The Roots of Speciesism

When primitive man first began to adapt to his surroundings he needed the hide and flesh of animals in order to sustain his survival. It wouldn't be logical for one to argue that primitive man was acting immorally by killing another animal. I seriously doubt that humans of that time stopped to ask if they were doing something morally wrong by killing other animals for survival. At that point in time, man was more like the animals he was killing than people are today. If people had never used animals in order to benefit themselves, we may never have advanced as the human race. Therefore it can be argued that early speciesism is responsible for our advancement.

There are clearly some benefits from man prioritizing its needs over those of animals. Civilization as we know it would not exist had man not thought that he was more important than his non-human counterpart. We owe speciesism for our known way of life. So how can we view this as an entirely bad practice? I love animals and don't see myself as being more important than they are but I don't renounce modern technological advances that are the direct result of treating animals as inferiors and using them (i.e. the horse and buggy becomes the car).

It is important to realize that a practice that was once essential to our development as a race is no longer necessary. Our relationship with animals has greatly changed since primitive man. The gap between human and animal continues to widen as humans become more advanced and animals stay behind. The point was raised in class that the closest most people come to animals is at mealtimes. It is time to disregard the idea that humans should be prioritized simply because we are human. This is arrogant and faulty logic. If humans are indeed as important as we think we are then why do we still depend on the flesh of other animals? The answer is, of course, that we don't. Speciesism no longer plays the beneficial role that it once did in society.

My question for this blog is: do you think there will ever come a time when people no longer hide behind speceism as an excuse for the way society treats animals?