'THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS'

'THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS' is one of those categorical considerations that has gained considerable discussion among certain 'thinkers' and segments of society in recent years. This notion extends itself to a number of interesting aspects and falls usually into two extremes. When considering 'the ethical treatment of animals' many consider right off, domestic animals ,such as, cows, horses, pigs, and birds, and especially 'pets', like cats and dogs. To see how these extremes manifest themselves, take a look at the subject of 'dogs' which in one aspect involve very pampered, sheltered, well-fed(often better than many people, especially in Third World Nations(whatever they really are) and that receive excellent 'medical care' that often is as expensive, if not more so, than that of their owners. These pets are often considered as 'members of one's family'! At the other extreme is that dogs are often subjected to 'fights' around the world, where gambling and 'entertainment' are sought by devotees to this special 'social-cult' and 'addiction' or otherwise used as 'food' or in some other capacity. Dogs are often seen as 'lowly' and also seldom considered, as in the first extreme, as 'MAN'S BEST FRIEND'! Dogs, cats, mice, rats, birds, and a whole host of animals serve as 'food for mankind, of course and their 'corpses' are often found on the best dining tables in homes and restaurants, though drastically modified from their 'raw' state by applications of heat(varied degrees) and additions of 'special spices' if not sauces! But the extension of this 'extreme school of thought' about animals is the 'scientific' utilizaton of animal 'subjects' for what was once termed ages ago as 'vivisection' but nowadays for medical studies of various kinds to 'benefit all of mankind'! The result of all these 'extremes' has posed a dilemma for many persons, who waiver between 'absolute vegetarianism' to 'fruititarianism' to 'an-all meat diet',sometimes including 'raw-foods! To resolve all of these 'ethical-humanitarian-social-religious,etc. problems' we need only consider what the Descartes sort of described in his philosophical considerations & deliberations, all of which pertain on one level to some very 'occult-esoteric' matters, some say derived from his 'Rosicrucianism'. Descartes is considered the 'author' of what can be termed, 'THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE' in which animals, machines, are SOULESS and therefore, do not feel 'real' pain or experience the same sensations, ideas, and experiences of MANKIND. There is more to this, of course, that discussed here and, quite likely, the upshot of his 'philosophy' was misapplied by those who read and misread him, especially on a 'practical' basis but such views tended to lead to 'animal experimentation' and other 'scientific endeavors' that have presumeably 'benefited mankind' to a greater or lesser degree(of good)!