A Critique of Some Appeals to Science in Animal Ethics

To reinforce their positions, animal advocates often rely on scientific arguments. They have the impression that evolutionary theory and ethological studies, in showing that animals are related to us and that they are more intelligent than one used to think, strengthen their arguments. This article shows that, on the contrary, in most cases scientific discoveries of this kind are not useful for animal ethics. Indeed, the fact that animals are close to us is not the reason one should not exploit them. The simple knowledge that they are sentient, which predates modern science, should be sufficient. So making reference to science is often an inappropriate strategy for animal advocates.