Elephants (Endangered Species) as Morally

Elephants (endangered species) as Morally Considerable agents

The moral considerability of elephants

The moral status of animals has stood as the main subject in a series of debates during the last centuries; as certain individuals prefer to believe that animals are not moral beings while others believe that they are morally considerable. Although it is difficult to take side in this controversy, one (consequent to studying the factors involved) is likely to consider that it would only be fair to consider animals to be morally considerable. Observing a herd of elephants is enough to understand why and how these animals are morally considerable, with the only exception being that they are unable to understand rights and duties imposed by the human society (even with the fact that this does not exclude them from the morally considerable category).

Judging from a general perspective, the fact that elephants live on this planet means that they have a right to do so and that it would be wrong to deny them this right. Elephants are able to put across hesitation in regard to a particular act, to understand moral standards, to exercise their free will, to understand when they should act in a particular way, and to demonstrate that they can act in accordance to ethic values. In contrast to these principles, numerous humans are inclined to consider that elephants can only be considered important because of the benefits that they can bring to the human society (Chadwick 540). When an individual acts in disagreement with the law, it does not necessarily mean that it is not a moral agent, with that respective individual being simply deprived of specific rights as a result of his behavior.

Although some theorists tend to exaggerate in categorizing moral agents by considering that everything that lives is morally considerable, people need to think about the consequences that their activity has on certain beings. When it seems absolutely impossible to avoid harming a being because the activity one has to perform is done with the purpose of saving a human life, it only seems natural for most people to perform that specific act. Even those who are indifferent to whether or not animals die need to think about the bigger picture and try to preserve biodiversity in general in order to prevent the contemporary ecosystem from being seriously affected.

According to the evolutionary theory, one can come to the conclusion that animals too are capable of moral thinking, even if it is done at a less advanced level in comparison to how humans do it. When considering elephants, it is particularly difficult for a normal human being to determine if they are moral agents or not, given that most people tend to judge matters from a biased perspective -- one that associates virtually everything with the human society and that evaluates things on account of the benefits they provide humans with. Even with that, people need to do everything in their power to guarantee the well-being of elephants, as, from a purely ethical point-of-view, "saving the elephants does not, it is assumed, involve the sacrifice of any other species" (Chadwick 545).