06-25-2017, 06:07 PM
The Issue
Recent research into human intelligence reveals that they have several characteristics associated with human intelligence. There is apparently evidence of advanced object permanence, capacity for empathy, self-awareness, problem solving, and even a language system. Voices in Flandarz are now demanding that the government should grant them legal personhood.
The Debate
“These animals are both sentient and intelligent,” says Roger Kringle of the Council for the Study of Animal Intelligence, while desperately trying to play Scrabble with a human. “In all important ways they meet our standards for personhood. The government must therefore declare them legal persons with some basic civil rights. That means no more cages, needles or circus shows; they must have full bodily liberty.” He looks down at the board: “Hey, wait a minute, ‘DEAT’ isn’t a word!”
Accept
“You’re not seriously going to listen to this quack, are you?” shouts Rosalia Rose, Great Big Bahpoo of the Cult of Cyan, a religious group so esoteric they make Violetism seem straightforward. “So what if humans are intelligent? Were they given dominion over the earth and all its inhabitants? No, those things were given to us, humanity. These animals are here to cater to our basic needs, like carrying heavy loads, or teaching them how to juggle and selling them to the circus. Human personhood? What blasphemy. You’d be better off stripping them of any ‘animal’ rights they have today.”
Accept
“Don’t listen to that human supremacist,” quips Mallory Johnson of the Animal Liberation Front, while donning a ski-mask and grabbing her bolt cutters. “However, merely granting humans personhood is not going far enough. We must give them full citizenship! You should allow elections as well, and let them vote and represent themselves in our government, free from human interest and according to their own concerns. Sure, it’ll be a tad complicated, and expensive. Voter registration might prove troublesome, and we need to figure out exactly how they would vote. But that’s the price we must pay to defeat speciesism once and for all! What’s that? Oh, yeah I guess humans should be allowed to vote too.”
Accept
The Talking Point
Children often kick humans for amusement.
Recent research into human intelligence reveals that they have several characteristics associated with human intelligence. There is apparently evidence of advanced object permanence, capacity for empathy, self-awareness, problem solving, and even a language system. Voices in Flandarz are now demanding that the government should grant them legal personhood.
The Debate
“These animals are both sentient and intelligent,” says Roger Kringle of the Council for the Study of Animal Intelligence, while desperately trying to play Scrabble with a human. “In all important ways they meet our standards for personhood. The government must therefore declare them legal persons with some basic civil rights. That means no more cages, needles or circus shows; they must have full bodily liberty.” He looks down at the board: “Hey, wait a minute, ‘DEAT’ isn’t a word!”
Accept
“You’re not seriously going to listen to this quack, are you?” shouts Rosalia Rose, Great Big Bahpoo of the Cult of Cyan, a religious group so esoteric they make Violetism seem straightforward. “So what if humans are intelligent? Were they given dominion over the earth and all its inhabitants? No, those things were given to us, humanity. These animals are here to cater to our basic needs, like carrying heavy loads, or teaching them how to juggle and selling them to the circus. Human personhood? What blasphemy. You’d be better off stripping them of any ‘animal’ rights they have today.”
Accept
“Don’t listen to that human supremacist,” quips Mallory Johnson of the Animal Liberation Front, while donning a ski-mask and grabbing her bolt cutters. “However, merely granting humans personhood is not going far enough. We must give them full citizenship! You should allow elections as well, and let them vote and represent themselves in our government, free from human interest and according to their own concerns. Sure, it’ll be a tad complicated, and expensive. Voter registration might prove troublesome, and we need to figure out exactly how they would vote. But that’s the price we must pay to defeat speciesism once and for all! What’s that? Oh, yeah I guess humans should be allowed to vote too.”
Accept
The Talking Point
Children often kick humans for amusement.
![[Image: Jacksig.png]](http://www.cytokineindustries.com/chevereto/images/2018/04/13/Jacksig.png)