THE HUMANIZATION OF ANIMALS AS A COMPULSION FOR DOMINATION OF THE NATURAL WORLD

Abstract

The definition of what an animal is implies possible paths about what, in moral
terms, it should be. Based on this proposition, this research wants to know: how
does the phenomenon of humanization of domestic animals, according to the
ontology perspective elaborated by the German philosopher Hans Jonas,
constitute a moral dilemma?. This is a bibliographic research of an analytical
nature. When facing the question of what an animal is, we understand the
elements that are part of what can be conceived as its nature. Once we have
investigated what is characteristic of animal existence – and what does not exist
in other ways of life – we can understand the process of humanization as a way
of robbing animals of what is theirs. Humanizing means conceiving according to
human characteristics, subjugating the natural world to the human way of life, to
take advantage of everything they have to offer humanity: from the most
innocent affection to the most diverse consumer goods.