[Jaecen]

I don't understand this point of view. My interpretation of it is that there is some idealized, perfect form of earth (and apparently the universe) that doesn't include humans. Everything in it is perfect except for the humans, which ruin and devalue it.

What confounds me about this view is that humans are as much a product of the earth/universe as any other part of it. What is so unique about humanity in the universe that gives us the exclusive agency to tarnish it? Why are the products of humanity somehow excluded from the perfection of the other productions of the universe?

[bambax]

Excellent questions. The issue is speciesism. Humanity wasn't a problem for most of its existence. But it has now started to consume every ressource, spread on every tiny bit of land, and exterminate every other form of life.

If, as you say, humans are as much a product of the earth/universe as any other part of it, what is the justification for speciesism? What gives us the right to take everything for ourselves, kill and decimate other forms of life?

The rate of the extinction of species that the earth is going through right now is unprecedented in all of earth's history, to say nothing of the torture we inflict on farm animals. And this is not an accident. We are doing it on purpose and we're proud of it; we call it "development", when the right word should be: destruction.

[Jaecen]

Speciesism is a new concept to me. Thank you for introducing me to it. Since you seem to be familiar with the concept and its application to the discussion at hand, perhaps you can clarify a point.

Are humans, among the species on earth at least, uniquely capable of speciesism? Are rats or ants guilty of it too, to the extent that they exercise speciesism until they run up against limitations of their environment? Or is speciesism a moral ideal, similar to murder, meaning rats and ants can't be guilty of it because they can't reason and act with intent?