Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes is an 1824 book by Lewis Gompertz, an early animal rights advocate and vegan. The book argues that animals, like humans, are sentient beings capable of experiencing pain and pleasure, and thus deserve moral consideration. He critiques the exploitation of animals for labour, food, and clothing, condemning practices such as slaughter, hunting, and scientific experimentation. He also addresses the suffering of wild animals, suggesting that even in nature, animals face hardships such as hunger and predation.
 Title page of 1992 reissued edition | |
| Author | Lewis Gompertz |
|---|---|
| Subject | Animal rights, human rights, veganism |
| Publisher | Westley & Parrish |
Publication date | 1824 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | xi + 175 |
| OCLC | 8671020 |
Gompertz promotes a vegan lifestyle, rejecting not only meat but also animal products like milk, eggs, leather, and wool, and questions the justification for using animals in any way that causes harm. His work critiques existing laws like Martin's Act and the Vagrancy Act, calling for stronger legal protections for animals and laying the groundwork for the modern animal rights movement.
Summary
editGompertz begins by reflecting on societal progress and the hope that ethical improvements can extend to animals. He critiques the mistreatment of labour animals like horses, contrasts methods of slaughter, and argues that cruelty arises from improper education. He emphasises the similarities between humans and animals, suggesting that differences in their experiences are due to physical variations rather than moral distinctions. Philosophically, he explores the possibility of a shared future state for both humans and animals.
He then contrasts the lives of humans and animals in nature versus civilisation, arguing that human dominance stems from habit and societal norms, not inherent superiority. Gompertz questions whether increasing happiness would lead to overpopulation of animals and discusses the societal structures that perpetuate exploitation, particularly of animals, women, and the lower classes. He also addresses the suffering of wild animals, noting their constant exposure to hunger, fear, and predation, and controversially suggests that the extinction of carnivorous species might reduce overall suffering in the wild.
Philosophical reflections follow, where Gompertz introduces moral axioms and theorems, including those on personal identity, punishment, and future existence for animals. He argues that reason supports the idea of animals having similar moral rights to humans, challenging conventional ideas of human superiority.
Next, Gompertz presents a dialogue debating the morality of slaughtering animals for food, critiquing widely accepted practices and raising concerns about humane treatment. He argues that consuming milk, eggs, and other animal products is exploitative, advocating for a vegan lifestyle. He also extends his critique to the use of animal products like leather, silk, and wool, questioning the morality of benefiting from substances obtained through harm. He also discusses the ethical use of vegetables, suggesting that plant-based diets align better with moral principles.
Gompertz questions the morality of using horses for labour, arguing that such practices are based on human selfishness rather than necessity. He compares these actions to broader societal exploitation, insisting that reason and conscience should guide treatment of animals.
He critiques Martin's Act, which sought to prevent cruelty to cattle, suggesting more comprehensive legal protections for animals. He then discusses the Vagrancy Act 1824 and treadmills, comparing the harsh treatment of humans under these laws to the cruelty inflicted on animals.
Finally, Gompertz proposes a bill to strengthen animal protection laws, emphasising the moral imperative of preventing cruelty to animals. His work lays a foundation for modern arguments in favour of animal rights and ethical veganism, advocating for the humane treatment of all living beings.
Reception
editOne contemporary reviewer called the structuring of the book "puzzling", yet felt that Gompertz laid out "excellent principles, as applied to all points of a public nature" and that the "tendency of most of the author's proposals and observations is humane and laudable"; they concluded that despite certain faults in the book's judgements, that it deserved the "attention of magistrates and men in power".[1]
Legacy
editIn 1839, the astronomer and naturalist T. Forster published a treatise addressed to Gompertz, titled Philozoia, or Moral Reflections on the actual condition of the Animal Kingdom, and the means of improving the same.[2]
Henry S. Salt included Gompertz's book in his bibliography of animal rights, within his 1892 work Animals' Rights: Considered in Relation to Social Progress.[2]
Gary L. Francione and Anne E. Charlton describe the book as "one of the most progressive and radical books on animal ethics ever written, yet is virtually unknown".[3] Peter Singer, in the foreword to the 1992 edition of the book, details his surprise at having discovered Gompertz's work and recognising Gompertz's arguments as being very similar to his own, which have been taken up by the animal liberation movement.[4]
Stephen Bostock draws attention to how Gompertz's investigation of ethics "attempts to argue rigorously from firm foundations with an elaborate apparatus of definitions, axioms and theorems". He also praises the fairness Gompertz gives to his opponents and his honesty about his doubts. Bostock also asserts that Gompertz's answers to a number of contemporary ethical questions are "well worth the attention of anyone tackling these questions today."[5]
Publication history
editThe book was printed by Richard Taylor and published by Westley & Parrish, who sold it from their location opposite St. Clement Danes on the Strand, London.[6]
In 1992, Centaur Press published a new edition of the book, which was edited by Peter Singer.[4] This was followed by a 1997 edition published by Edwin Mellen Press and edited by Charles R. Magel.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Monthly Catalogue, Miscellaneous". The Monthly Review, Or, Literary Journal. R. Griffiths. 1825. p. 109.
- ^ a b Salt, Henry Stephens (1894). Animals' Rights Considered in Relation to Social Progress. New York, London: Macmillan & Co. pp. 120–122.
- ^ Francione, Gary L.; Charlton, Anne E. (2017). "Animal Rights". In Karlof, Linda (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Animal Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-19-992715-9.
- ^ a b Gompertz, Lewis (1992). Singer, Peter (ed.). Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes. Fontwell: Centaur Press. ISBN 978-0-900001-37-6.
- ^ Bostock, Stephen (May 1994). "Book Reviews". Journal of Applied Philosophy. 11 (1): 117–127. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5930.1994.tb00097.x. ISSN 0264-3758.
- ^ "Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes". WorldCat. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
- ^ Gompertz, Lewis (1997). Magel, Charles R. (ed.). Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 978-0-7734-8722-2.
Further reading
edit- Kew, Barry (28 April 2023). Lewis Gompertz: Philosopher, Activist, Philanthropist, Inventor. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-6667-6129-0.