Exploring Moral Status of Animals in Indian Philosophical Thought

Abstract

The paper intends to expound the philosophical perspectives of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism on non-human animals and analyze their implication on the moral standing of th animals. Until 17 Century, deliberations concerning the moral worth of animals were largely absent from the western philosophical debates. The then prevailing western religio philosophical discourses subscribed to the view that animals differed greatly from humans and thus were not moral beings. It was only with Bentham's recognition of animals' capacity of sentience and later on the 1970s environmental crisis which escalated the animal question into an ethical question. Acknowledging Animal Ethics as a branch of philosophical study necessitated the issue surrounding the moral standing of animals to be extensively debated in the stream of western philosophical thought. 

Today, so much so is the animal issue percolated in the mainstream of Western philosophy that there exist utilitarian and deontological approaches to resolve the same. Indian Philosophical traditions, unlike their Western counterpart, do not propound any animal specific ethical theories. However, it does not imply that they view animals outside the moral sphere. Indian philosophical thought instead hold that animals are interconnected to humans life-forms given their identical pure Jivas, each going through endless re-birth cycles (samsara) and also being manifestation of One, Absolute Monistic reality. This philosophical insight of Indian traditions to establish commonality between human and an animal not only does away with human/animal binary postulated by west but also forms ground for asserting the moral status of animals wherein animals are regarded as moral beings deserving equality, reverence, compassion and empathy.