The Silencing of the Lamb : a critical conceptual study of subjectivity, right–holders, and human rights

Abstract: It is widespread human doxa that moral concern towards the animal is less important than what we direct towards our fellow human–beings. The animal is avowedly less rational, less susceptible to pleasure, and less capable of creating meaningful interactive relationships, or so widely accepted at least. I will argue that the paradigm in which we hierarchize human concern as superordinated the animal, is largely built on extemporaneous dogmas. By understanding how ”the Other” is constructed through interpellation and by subsequent circumlocution ”the animal” has been downgraded to a subcategory of moral concern. Seeking to bridge philosophy of mind, philosophy of language and philology I question the compatibility of the definition of ”the animal” and its implication on the rights discourse normally taken for granted. I claim subjectivity in ”the animal” as self–evident, and the homogenous nomenclature ”the animal” as symptomatic of a power–structure between humans and the animal. The onus of justification for ”discrimination” against the animal must be on the part of the ones performing positive action (i.e. defenders of Human Rights).