Volume V · Intermediate level
Differences Between Environmentalism and Consideration for Animals
How far apart are they?
About this volume
This book presents a comparison of the differences between consideration for animals and environmentalism, both with regard to their foundations and goals and with regard to the practical conflict that results from these theoretical differences.
ISBN 978-65-01-42971-7 · 1st edition, April 2025. Original text by Luciano Carlos Cunha, translated into English.
In a nutshell
Are defending animals and defending the environment the same thing? This volume shows they are not: environmentalism values species and ecosystems in themselves, while defending animals means valuing the individuals who feel. The disagreement is about ends, not just means, and it shows up in programs that kill animals.
For kids
Taking care of a forest for the forest's sake is different from taking care of the animals that live in it. Sometimes what is good for the "pretty forest" is bad for the animals, and this book explains that difference.
You will learn
- The difference between valuing individuals and valuing wholes
- Why ecological balance and biodiversity do not measure the well-being of animals
- What environmentalist extermination programs are really after
- Why many animal advocates avoid acknowledging the disagreement
It helps to have read: Volumes I and II.
Starting from scratch?
Every chapter has a simplified version, written for readers new to the topic. Read the simple version first, then the author’s full text.
- Respect for animals and environmentalism: complementary or opposed?
- The divergence concerns ends, not only means
- Despite their differences, do animal advocacy and environmentalism converge in practice?
- The divergence does not lie in a focus on the short or the long term
- Do ecological balance and biodiversity coincide with what is best for animals?
- Animal advocacy and environmentalism: the divergence is ethical, not scientific
- Why is respect for animals confused with environmentalism?
- What do environmentalist extermination programs aim at?
- Is environmentalism anthropocentric?
- Questioning environmentalist assumptions
- Why are animal advocates reluctant to acknowledge the divergence?
Chapters
- 1Respect for animals and environmentalism: complementary or opposed?6 min
Animal advocacy and environmentalism start from opposite foundations: one values the individuals who feel; the other, non-sentient entities like species and ecosystems. That's why there are environmentalist practices that exterminate animals.
- 2The divergence concerns ends, not only means5 min
The difference between environmentalism and animal advocacy lies in the ends, not just the means: considering individuals isn't always preferring one over many, and considering “the whole” isn't considering the majority, but abstract entities.
- 3Despite their differences, do animal advocacy and environmentalism converge in practice?2 min
Animal advocacy and environmentalism sometimes converge, but not always: the environment can be preserved in many configurations, and the ones environmentalism prefers often aren't the best for animals.
- 4The divergence does not lie in a focus on the short or the long term3 min
The difference between the two positions isn't that one thinks short-term and the other long-term: concern for animals' future suffering is already a concern centered on them, not an environmentalist one.
- 5Do ecological balance and biodiversity coincide with what is best for animals?3 min
Ecological balance (the stability of populations) and biodiversity (the variety of species) don't measure animals' well-being; only by coincidence do they result in something better for them, and they often result in very bad situations.
- 6Animal advocacy and environmentalism: the divergence is ethical, not scientific3 min
The disagreement between animal advocacy and environmentalism is ethical, not scientific: ecology describes and doesn't prescribe goals, and a position centered on animals' good can be as scientifically informed as any other, for example through welfare biology.
- 7Why is respect for animals confused with environmentalism?7 min
Several factors explain the confusion between animal advocacy and environmentalism, such as the belief that both want what's good for animals and the confusion between environmentalism and ecology; it leads animal advocates to support practices that seriously harm animals.
- 8What do environmentalist extermination programs aim at?4 min
Environmentalist programs to exterminate “invasive” species don't aim to reduce animals' suffering and deaths (sometimes they greatly increase them): they aim to maintain valued configurations. They fail the impartiality test.
- 9Is environmentalism anthropocentric?3 min
Most environmentalists are anthropocentric, since they don't apply to humans what they apply to animals; a rare few, like Linkola, would apply it to humans too. There are reasons to reject both positions.
- 10Questioning environmentalist assumptions8 min
It hasn't been shown that non-sentient entities (species, ecosystems) have intrinsic value, let alone that they're worth more than sentient beings; even if they did, that wouldn't justify violating basic interests such as not suffering and not dying.
- 11Why are animal advocates reluctant to acknowledge the divergence?6 min
Animal advocates are reluctant to acknowledge their disagreement with environmentalism for fear of opposing it and because it's hard to revise long-held beliefs and practices; these are the same biases they ask others to overcome.