Open AccessOn Liberty and Cruelty: A Reply to Walter Block
Author(s) -
Michael Huemer
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
studia humana
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2299-0518
DOI - 10.2478/sh-2022-0004
Subject(s) - cruelty , argument (complex analysis) , appeal , animal rights , animal ethics , law , environmental ethics , politics , immorality , philosophy , law and economics , sociology , political science , morality , biology , biochemistry
A standard argument for ethical vegetarianism contends that factory farming – the source of nearly all animal products – is morally wrong due to its extreme cruelty, and that it is wrong to buy products produced in an extremely immoral manner. This article defends this argument against objections based on appeal to libertarian political philosophy, the supposed benefit to animals of being raised for food, and nonhuman animals’ supposed lack of rights.