Bloodsports

• fox hunting


  • horse and hound chase of foxes in traditional garb.
  • illegal in the uk
  • justified by tradition, hierarchy of souls, dominion, economic benefit, foxes are pests and kill chickens
  • objections include stewardship, bad habit forming behaviour / desensitisation, animals as moral agents like speciesism and having SCREAM, a quicker death than that of a poor shot by a hunter, the economy suffered when it was made illegal
• biblical stewardship


  • humans should care for animals, image god's glory on earth by acting kindly toward them.
  • based in scripture like genesis 2 "work it (eden) and take care of it"
• biblical dominion


  • humans are superior and have reign over the earth
  • based in scripture like genesis "fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish... birds.. every living creature"
• Peter singer- speciesism


  • a person is someone who can be conscious of their own existence
  • animals can be more important that some humans like mentally disabled people
  • we should treat animals with equity based on their mental capacities and more importantly their capacity to suffer
  • the idea of humans being superior is a moral blindspot
• dog fighting- situation ethics

  definitely not agapeic, its incredibly cruel and just terrible theres no real benefit other than the joy of a very few people, unlike say bullfighting. it is relative and personal, being against the law in the uk, but fails the other two working principles
• fox hunting- situation ethics

  could be agapeic for tradition reasons or since foxes are considered vermin and kill chickens. but the suffering caused by the terror of the chase followed by the foxes being ripped to shreds alive suggests not.
• bull fighting- situation ethics


  not agapeic, cruel to the bulls and often very dangerous to those who partake, both for the crowd and matador. although there are some angles, like the tradition angle and economic side, since bullfighting employs many and brings tourism to countries like spain
• fishing- situation ethics


  the most agapeic bloodsport, does not in most types of fishing cause excessive suffering, and the fish usually arent going to waste even if its recreational fishing people will often cook them anyway or release the fish with minimal injury and it has health benefits for stroke survivors
• Mary Anne Warren- what is a person?



  SCREAM
• Mary Anne Warren- Scream



  Sentience
• Mary Anne Warren- sCream



  capacity to communicate
• Mary Anne Warren- scReam



  reason
• Mary Anne Warren- scrEam



  emotionality
• Mary Anne Warren- screAm


  awareness of self
• Mary Anne Warren- screaM


  moral agency
• Bull Fighting


  • matador fighting a bull as a display of skill/strength, you kill it with a spear
  • over 500 people have died
  • legal in some places like spain
  • justified by tradition, Mill's pleasure disctinction, hierarchy of souls, economy, dominion, speciesism
  • objections include animals have moral status/SCREAM, speciesism, bad habit forming, pain/suffering/death
• running of the bulls

  • people run with bulls and try not get trampled
  • legal in places like spain
  • justified, not as cruel as bullfighting, mill's pleasure, dominion, speciesism, hierarchy, animals don't have moral status
  • objections include animals w moral status/SCREAM, speciesism, hierarchy is wrong, Bentham we should do whatever produces the greatest pleasure over pain in the world, there's no reason not to include animals in that calculation
• dogfighting


  • making dogs fight each other, they often die :(
  • illegal in UK
  • justified with, the dogs like it, pleasure/thrill for the humans, dominion, speciesism, hierarchy of souls,
  • objections, it seems especially cruel isnce it preys on the dogs loyalty, animals have moral status/SCREAM, bentham, stewardship
• big game hunting


  • a big scary animal like a lion is bred in captivity and are then "hunted" by rich people
  • legal in various places
  • justified with, they're bad/evil animals, they act as reservation keeping the population up, economy
  • objections, worse than things like bullfighting since the animals don't even get a chance to fight back, the captivity makes it seem even crueller, animals have moral status/SCREAM, bentham, stewardship
• fishing


  • its fishing bro??
  • its legal if you have a liscense
  • justified with health benefits,minimal harm, dominion etc
  • objections, its wasteful if the fish dies recreationally, bentham
• ethical issues 


  • The moral right of humans to kill or maim for their own amusement, other animals who possess sentience, social organisation and cognitive skills.
  • The negative effect on human psychology, in so far as those who participate can become hardened (or desensitised) to animal suffering and can transfer it to their treatment of humans.
• natural moral law- aquinas

  • says, "He that kills another’s ox, sins, not through killing the ox, but through injuring another man in his property. Wherefore this is not a species of the sin of murder but of the sin of theft or robbery."
  • what he means is that animals only have instrumental value, they're for our sake so can be killed/hurt if we so wish
• natural moral law- primary precepts

  it doesn't go against any of the primary precepts unless you pick scripture that suggests stewardship or scripture of saints being kind to animals to say it goes against worship god.
• natural moral law- secondary precept


  blood sports are wrong as the biblical account of stewardship present in the bible through quotes like genisis "work it and take care of it", so doesn't worship god.
• natural moral law- the catholic church

  • seems to contradict aquinas, leaning more towards stewardship
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "Men owe [animals] kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals." and "It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly."
  • this suggests bloodsports may be wrong
• natural moral law- hierarchy of souls

  Aquinas adopted Aristotle’s hierarchy of the souls.

  Plants- Vegetative: Nutrition and growth

  Animals- Sensitive: ^ Movement · Sense perception (low-level) thought

  Humans- Rational: ^^ · Reason

  the ability of animals to have sense perception and to move means that they are able to make use of plants as a food supply for nutrition and growth. humans, at the top of this hierarchy, have the same right in relation to animals. Animals were created, in Aquinas’ view, for any use to which humans choose to put them.
• objection to the hierarchy

  Aquinas relies on Aristotle’s account of the hierarchy of souls, where all souls have a final end, which means its wrong to interfere with that final end.

  Judith Barad:

  “The tusks of an elephant are for fighting, and this takes precedence over their use as material for chess pieces … The natural end of an animal is to grow to the state of maturity characteristic of its species;... An animal’s capacities have value independent of their usefulness to human beings.”

  arguing that animals have inherent or intrinsic value, rather than simply instrumental value.
• natural moral law- bad habits


  aquinas sometimes employs a view from aristotle, suggesting that some actions are bad habit forming, blood sports may be an example of something which causes desensitisation to violence, worsening people morally
• doctrine of double effect and proportionalism


  dont apply for bloodsports since aquinas would say they're totally fine
• situation ethics

  it is not agapeic to trade excessive animal suffering for mere human enjoyment, if we apply positivism and use situation ethic's agapeic calculus, it is cruel and causes suffering for insufficient reasoning
• situation ethics

  theres nothing agapeic about bloodsports, for example oscar wilde describes fox hunting as the "unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible"
• situation ethics- bad habit forming


  the nature pleasure derived can be said to degrade the participants in blood sports, for example, because it may damage the character, leading to other forms of violence, and desensitise people into inflicting pain for pleasure.
• virtue ethics


  hunting was common in greek society, much of virtue ethics seems to flow with their society so aristotle may have considered it a normal thing with no moral fault. but in modern times, hunting animals in public will upset and offend some people, hence the ban of things like fox-hunting
• virtue ethics


  experiencing pleasure at the expense of another being won't develop good character, its bad habit forming behaviour due to potential desensitisation and just seeming like a base act. Some peoplewould judge a person by their treatment of animals, for example, in terms of the consideration shown to animals that can't defend themselves. Participation in blood sports suggests some lack of consideration to humans as well as animals.
• virtue ethics- relevant virtues and hursthouse


  • the virtue of temperance- you shouldn't hedonistically seek pleasure in the pain of others
  • hurthouse- vice of callousness is apparent in people indifferent to the feelings of animals/activists. against that scruton says blood sports are courageous like the matador
  • but aristotle would see this as inferior courage: "It is more courageous to be fearless and calm amid unforeseen dangers than amid those that are clear beforehand"
  • theres other extreme sports where you can demonstrate true courage without callousness, bloodsports aren't necessary