I don’t have to tell anyone very much about “Cecil,” the majestic lion (the “feline” referred to in the title) recently killed by an American hunter in Zimbabwe. If the veritable deluge of media coverage, worldwide outrage, and criminal investigations haven’t done that for me…well, just go ahead and Google “Cecil the lion.” You’ll find plenty.
Meanwhile, in the state of Michigan, state officials are cracking down on the black market trafficking of bear parts. For more on this, see “Black market in bear parts nets three in Kent County.”
During a recent address to young leaders from African nations, U.S. President Barack Obama openly condemned the practice — still existent in parts of Africa — of killing albino people and harvesting their organs for ritual purposes. He employed very strong language against this deplorable practice, rightly calling it “crazy,”and “cruel.”
Finally, we have the series of undercover videos featuring Planned Parenthood officials discussing the trafficking of the body parts of aborted fetuses. Doubtless, this has bothered a great many people. But how do responses compare with the popular attention focused on Cecil? Or with the governmental response to both Cecil and the bears? Or with Obama’s strong defense of the equal dignity of albino people as human beings?
All around, they come up way short. But the fact that all of these matters are entering the spotlight concurrently opens the door to a much needed and deeply significant discussion, to which I hope to offer some small contribution.
Okay — at this point you may have read between the lines a little bit, and might therefore be thinking: “Hear we go — another Catholic stepping in to argue that human beings are more valuable than animals.” And you’re right. But I would also like to understand the cultural phenomenon I am addressing, so please don’t be misled into thinking this will be a diatribe of any kind.
I know the belief in human superiority can appear cruel and inhumane, and I understand the feelings of those who would make that argument. So I’ll start with an explanation — why exactly do we argue that humans are more valuable than the beasts?
The best way to explain this is in light of the “degrees of being,” and what each degree implies in various circumstances. If I strike and injure a rock, it’s no big deal unless it belongs to someone; the rock itself has no consciousness, and therefore cannot feel anything, and no real inner vitality, for which reason the action doesn’t make much difference. Harming a tree or plant (which have vegetative vitality) carries a little more importance, but more because of the potential effect on surrounding wildlife and people than anything else.
When it comes to the animal kingdom, there is much more of a sense of inhumane cruelty in mistreatment. Why? Because animals have sensory awareness, and they can feel it.
Human beings bring another dimension to the question. A human person not only has sensory awareness and experiences, but also an “I” to tie it all together, a subject aware of the fact that “this is happening to me.”
We’ve all felt it, both for ourselves and, sympathetically, on behalf of other people. It is our sense of the sacred inviolability of the human person.
There is, however, another side to this — that of responsibility and guilt. If, or example, a lion injures or kills one of its own kind or another animal, what guilt does it incur?
None.
If that lion injures or kills a human being, what guilt does it incur?
None. It is a non-rational animal, without the necessary resources to make free-will judgements and decisions. It is driven by in-built instinct and cannot be held responsible for its actions.
Now let’s reverse the situation. If a human being exercises cruelty toward another human being, s/he incurs graver guilt than if s/he were to exercise cruelty toward an animal; but s/he incurs guilt in both cases. In fact, to behave in this way does more harm to the acting subject than to the victim, because the nature of a rational being is such that it degrades itself by bending its will toward such actions.
I want to leave you with that for now. If you will bear with me, I’ll pick up with this reflection in the second post, in which I will explore the cultural phenomenon evinced by my earlier media references more deeply.
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Acknowledgements
1. “Cecil the lion at Hwange National Park (4516560206)” by Daughter#3 – Cecil. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cecil_the_lion_at_Hwange_National_Park_(4516560206).jpg#/media/File:Cecil_the_lion_at_Hwange_National_Park_(4516560206).jpg
2. “Ursus americanusDetail” by Greg Hume – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ursus_americanusDetail.jpg#/media/File:Ursus_americanusDetail.jpg
3. “Albinisitic man portrait” by The original uploader was Muntuwandi at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albinisitic_man_portrait.jpg#/media/File:Albinisitic_man_portrait.jpg
4. “Stamps of Germany (Berlin) 1972, MiNr 420”. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stamps_of_Germany_(Berlin)_1972,_MiNr_420.jpg#/media/File:Stamps_of_Germany_(Berlin)_1972,_MiNr_420.jpg
5. “Childwarsawghetto”. Via Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Childwarsawghetto.jpg#/media/File:Childwarsawghetto.jpg
This is good! I’d love to hear the rest of your thoughts then discuss.
Thanks for your interest! Will work on part 2 🙂
I just published part two, if you’re still interested 🙂