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Answering Arguments Against Animal Rights |
| Part V -- Argument Four: Animals cannot feel pain |
Argument four: animals cannot feel pain.
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When people cause, or take part in the cruel treatment of animals, they
often soothe their conscience with the argument that animals can't feel pain.
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This absurd notion was given false credibility when the French
philosopher and vivisector Rene Descartes championed the view that
non-human animals consist of mindless, unfeeling, instinctive reactions
similar to machines. But this cannot be considered scientific any longer.
Scientists have conducted thousands of cruel experiments with animals...
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...in which they use pain-avoidance as a key behavior in the test subjects.
If the idea that animals feel pain was unscientific, then why do scientists
expect animals to avoid pain in their experiments?
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We know that animals have nerves and brains.
We know that the purpose of nerves is to convey sensory stimuli to the brain.
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We know from our own bodies that nerves do feel pain and convey that
message loud and clear to our brains.
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We even know what part of our brain registers pain.
It is the thalamus: also called the "reptilian brain" because this very
primitive part of the brain has not evolved since we were in the
reptilian stage of our evolution.
In other words: from humans on down to the lowest reptile, this part of
the brain is the same.
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And the logical conclusion is that from humans
on down the evolutionary scale at least as far as the reptiles, the
experience of pain is the same. In fact, the sensation of pain may be
greater in other animals since they may not be able to console
themselves with the thought that the pain is of short duration. It may
fill their entire being with pain and fear.
In any case, nature is not wasteful -- or generous.
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When an animal has evolved a central nervous system, it isn't there just
for high-school students to dissect. It serves a function. The function of
a central nervous system is to convey sensations, including pain.
And pain serves a very useful function in any animal's survival.
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If I lay my hand on a hot burner I might leave it there to suffer irreparable damage
if it were not for the sensation of pain: which causes me to yank my hand away
almost instantly. So too in nature: an animal would not survive long
without the capacity to feel pain and so avoid what is harmful to their well being
and continued existence.
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