Dignity as Perception: Recognition of the Human Individual and the Individual Animal in Legal Thought
Dignity as Perception: Recognition of the Human Individual and the Individual Animal in Legal Thought
The individual recognized in law and life is more than the product exclusively of two factors, ‘the genetic’ and ‘the environmental’. There is a third element sensed, consciously or instinctively. When recognized the individual begins to block calculation as a form of thought—looking for justification in relative numbers, thinking in terms of systems. If perception of the individual does not block calculation entirely, it acts as a pressure in the mind towards a different kind of thinking, facing the tragic in choices and moving into the world of remorse, forgiveness, and beginning again. This same shift in thought can be seen repeatedly in modern developments in the legal treatment of animals. Whether or not the term ‘dignity’ is used in law with regard to animals, an understanding of human dignity can be clarified or confirmed by turning to its analogue where sentient creatures beyond the human are concerned.
Keywords: animal, dignity, individual, law, person, science, sentience, spirit, torture
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