Editing Speciesism (section)

==== Jeremy Bentham ====
[[Jeremy Bentham]] was the first Western philosopher to advocate for animals' [[Equal consideration of interests|equal consideration]] within a comprehensive, secular moral framework.<ref name=":0" /> He argued that species membership is morally irrelevant and that any being capable of suffering has [[Intrinsic value (ethics)|intrinsic value]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Sebo |first=Jeff |author-link=Jeff Sebo |url=https://utilitarianism.net/textbook/ |title=Introduction to Utilitarianism |year=2023 |editor-last=Chappell |editor-first=Richard Yetter |chapter=Utilitarianism and Nonhuman Animals |editor-last2=Meissner |editor-first2=Darius |editor-last3=MacAskill |editor-first3=William |editor-link3=William MacAskill |chapter-url=https://utilitarianism.net/guest-essays/utilitarianism-and-nonhuman-animals/}}</ref> In his 1789 book, ''[[An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation]]'', he wrote:<ref name=":1" /><blockquote>The day may come, when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withheld from them but by the hand of tyranny.… [T]he question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?  </blockquote>Additionally, he was a strong proponent of animal welfare laws. However, he also accepted the killing and use of animals, provided that unnecessary cruelty was avoided.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Kniess |first=Johannes |date=2019-05-04 |title=Bentham on animal welfare |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09608788.2018.1524746 |journal=British Journal for the History of Philosophy |language=en |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=556–572 |doi=10.1080/09608788.2018.1524746 |issn=0960-8788}}</ref>