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Fall: Animal Suffering and Human Agency

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Animal Ethics and the Nonconformist Conscience

Part of the book series: The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series ((PMAES))

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Abstract

For much of the period discussed in this book, and for most people, there was no advantage to being able to recognise that animals suffer. Yet animal suffering, as well as human butchery, was not only acknowledged by the nonconformists, but was also seen as fundamentally abnormal and the consequences of human transgression. As humans were created to magnify the praise of God, cruelty which prevents the animal from praising its creator subverts human identity and was even called demonic. Exploiting cruelty or fierceness for human pleasure is egregiously wicked. Animals are entitled to rightful dealing from humans and, unlike their passive role in modernity, may call upon God for justice. Humans will be required to give an account of their stewardship and will be judged by the same measure they have used towards animals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, Oxford, UK

    Philip J. Sampson

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  1. Philip J. Sampson
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Correspondence to Philip J. Sampson .

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Sampson, P.J. (2018). Fall: Animal Suffering and Human Agency. In: Animal Ethics and the Nonconformist Conscience. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96406-5_6

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