What is the relation between altruism and animal
rights?
Altruism is helping another without any regard for what is in it for yourself.
Because we can make animals happy, altruism seems to allow us to be kind to
animals. In consistent Altruistic thinking, animals are allowed to be happy for
they are not free agents and can’t be altruistic. If there is a choice between
making a higher animal happy and making a person happy making the animal happy
would be preferred because you know the happiness cannot do the animal any
ethical harm for it probably has no free will or ability to be altruistic
itself. But you are not so sure of the human person and inducing altruism in the
person is more important than their happiness. Happiness could corrupt the
person so giving it to an animal instead of a person would be approved. Also,
the animal has a shorter life than a human being and so would deserve more
happiness than a human would for a human lives long enough to take care of
themselves.
Altruists, of course, deny what logic says. Even they don't want animal welfare
preferred to that of people. That is a testimony to their hypocrisy. They would
have to deny that animals should ever be considered at all to salvage their
altruistic philosophy. Vets would be carrying out an immoral career. But vets
make people happy by looking after their livestock and pets. Altruists would
have a problem with that for it teaches that self-sacrifice for people is a duty
which implies that self-sacrifice for animals is a perversion and shouldn't be
honoured.
Some altruists believe that animals are naturally happy so they need no help
from us. It would seem that if you want to avoid accusing God of not providing
for them you would have to assume that!
If animals are inferior to us and the altruist should be loved and cherished for
being altruistic then what if the altruist only helps animals? Many would say
she is warped and not a true altruist for altruists only look after people.