defend the case for women’s rights against the attack by
Thomas Taylor. How should we reply?
Onewayinwhichwemightreplyisbysayingthatthecase
for equality between men and women cannot validly be
extendedtononhumananimals.Womenhavearighttovote,
for instance, because they are just as capable of making
rationaldecisionsaboutthefutureasmenare;dogs,onthe
other hand, are
incapableofunderstandingthesignificanceofvoting,sothey
cannothavetherighttovote.Therearemanyotherobvious
waysinwhichmenandwomenresembleeachotherclosely,
whilehumansandanimalsdiffergreatly.So,itmightbesaid,
menandwomenaresimilarbeingsandshouldhavesimilar
rights,whilehumansandnonhumansaredifferentandshould
not have equal rights.
ThereasoningbehindthisreplytoTaylor’sanalogyiscorrect
up to a point but it does not go far enough. There are
obviously importantdifferences betweenhumans and other
animals, and these differences must give rise to some
differences in the rights that each have. Recognizing this
evidentfact,however,isnobarriertothecaseforextending
the basic principle of equality to nonhuman animals. The
differences thatexistbetweenmenand womenareequally
undeniable,and thesupporters of Women’sLiberation are
awarethatthesedifferencesmaygiverisetodifferentrights.
Manyfeministsholdthatwomenhavetherighttoanabortion
onrequest.Itdoesnotfollowthatsincethesesamefeminists
arecampaigningforequalitybetweenmenandwomenthey
mustsupporttherightofmentohaveabortionstoo.Sincea
mancannothaveanabortion,itismeaninglesstotalkofhis
righttohaveone.Sincedogscan’tvote,itismeaninglessto