Status Updates From In Defense of Animals

On 'Factory problems, factory solutions'

I loved Robert waldaus essay on religion and animals. This is something I've been interested in for a while, and it gave a very succinct starting point.

Very thought provoking book so far. I found chapter 4 hard to follow, as I don't really know much about the history of philosophy. I'm looking forward to chapter 5 though. Religion and animals is a particular area of interest of mine.

p. 16 - do not agree with the author (Gaverick Matheny) that invertebrates do not 'possess the same equipment to feel pain and pleasure that we have' - I am aware of behavioural and physiological evidence to suggest that they have mechanisms for pain perception that, if not identical to vertebrates, they are similar. They have found nerve endings comparable to nociceptive fibres.

'Indeed, one could argue that our readiness to put hopelessly ill nonhuman animals out of their misery is the one and only respect in which we treat animals better than we treat human beings'