Chapter 5
Man’s Dominion ...
a short history of speciesism
To endtyrannywe mustfirst understandit.As apractical
matter, the rule of the human animal over other animals
expressesitselfinthemannerwehaveseeninChapters 2 and
3,andinrelatedpracticesliketheslaughterofwildanimals
forsportorfortheirfurs.Thesepracticesshouldnotbeseen
asisolatedaberrations.Theycanbeproperlyunderstoodonly
asthemanifestationsoftheideologyofourspecies—thatis,
theattitudeswhichwe,asthedominantanimal,havetoward
the other animals.
In this chapter we shall see how, at different periods,
outstanding Western thinkers formulatedand defended the
attitudestoanimalsthatwehaveinherited.Iconcentrateon
the “West” not because other cultures are inferior—the
reverse is true, so far as attitudes to animals are
concerned—butbecause Westernideas have,over thepast
twoor threecenturies, spreadout from Europeuntiltoday
they set the mode of thought for most human societies,
whether capitalist or communist.
Though thematerial that follows is historical,my aim in
presentingitisnot.Whenanattitudeissodeeplyingrainedin
ourthoughtthatwetakeitasanunquestionedtruth,aserious
and consistent challenge to that attitude runs the risk of
ridicule.Itmaybepossibletoshatterthecomplacencywith
whichtheattitudeisheldbyafrontalattack.ThisiswhatI