Ethos in "The Rights of Animals" by Brigid Brophy

Brigid Brophy was an extremely accomplished writer in the 1960's.  She was mostly known for her ability to write novels but was soon renouned for her critical analyses of social issues.  Her past writing gave her credibility in the 1960's era.  Don't Never Forget, a collection of short works written by her can be found in McKeldin Library.  These works include, "The Rights of Animals", "The Immorality of marriage", "Monogamy", and many more.  "The Rights of animals" became a basis for many future articles.  Brophy also often worked as a political activist advocating for feminism and animal rights.  Remnants of her works can often still be found in feminist writing today.

Logos in "A Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience: No Pretending"

The logos used in this article is quite amazing. Most arguments in this area tend to relegated to level of "but animals are cute." However, this article actually goes as far as to say that animals are conscience beings just like humans, and it can be proven. Dr. Marc Bekoff writes that animals have many of same parts of the brain that scientists believe cause sentience in humans. This evidence along with many other studies all but proves that many animals are capable of human emotions and should be treated as such. These arguments give a very logical argument for why people should alter their behavior. First, cruel testing on animals should be banned and more research has to be done. Most animal scientists believe that animals are sentient beings, but more research needs to be done to convince the general public.

Kairos in "The Rights of Animals" by Brigid Brophy

In her essay, Brophy denotes moral insensitivity towards animals as a particularly prevalent issue in her time by referencing, among other things, the scientific experiments that were being performed on animals. At the time, many scientists who had a blindness to the integrity of animals had a high demand for animals specifically for research, in the name of science. As a result, there arose a sort of black market for animals, including dogs, whose demand for animals was so high that household pets were being stolen. Throughout the essay, Brophy utilizes the analogy between animal slavery and what she calls human slavery, and by doing so, she points out that while her audience as a whole has come to a moral sensitivity in respect to all humans, it is now still disregarding what ought to be the same moral sensitivity in respect to all other animals. Taking her audience from a history they understand—a terrible insensitivity toward the lives of slaves so great that politicians used economic principles as its justification—to a current situation to which they are blind, Brophy highlights the urgency of the situation. In this way, she establishes kairos by wedging her ideas into public discussion, boldly claiming that while many may consider her stance sentimental and impractical, it is merely a logical conclusion of the same idea that they hold to with at least some conviction. 

Logos in "The Rights of Animals" by Brigid Brophy

In Brigid Brophy's, "The Rights of Animals," Brophy makes exceptional use of logos in constructing her argument that animals are more than mere commodities made for humans, and should be treated as such. Brophy structures her argument around the assumptions and perceptions of most (animal consuming) humans in her society. She uses simple, syllogistic, and rational explanations for why she believes that it is wrong for humans to 'use' animals. Additionally (and one might call this ethos, but I think it also falls under the category of logic), Brophy addresses the assumptions that most members of her society make about her based on her arguments and explains why those assumptions and preconceptions are irrational and therefore irrelevant. She also points out several logical fallacies typically used by her opponents, such as the ad populum fallacy and the false dilemma fallacy. In summary, the effectiveness of Brophy's article can be attributed to her appeal to logos on the issue of animal rights.

Kairos in A Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience: No Pretending

Doctor Mark Bekoff argues that after all the research conducted on animal sentiments, it is time that people stop wondering whether animals have feelings or not. After providing citations to various studies conducted by different institutions, Bekoff portrays the kairos by stating it is high time people accept animals have wants and needs. Bekoff directly confronts audience that do not agree with his argument, and claims that the question should be "why" and not "if" animals have sentiment. Bekoff also establishes his knowledge in the area by citing a few papers he has read in the past, and draws his conclusions from them. In this article by Rev. Howard (http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moajrnl/acg2248.2-06.002/147:13?page=root;size=100;view=text), he gives personal experience on how animals do have feelings in a philosophical context. The contrast between statistics and personal experience does not change the message that animals should not be treated any less than humans. Moreover, when he states animals are "abused for research, education, food, clothing, and entertainment," he portrays the current conditions of animals to show the desperate need in mind set about animals. The urgency in his tone is obvious when he states "we need to stop pretending." He finally pleads people to change their perspective, saying "Please, let's do it now." The desperate finality in his tone hopefully motivates his audience to take charge in animal welfare.

A Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience: No Pretending

This is the second article which we will be discussing. It was written by Doctor Mark Bekoff in the magazine, Psychology Today, and published on June 20th, 2013.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201306/universal-declaration-animal-sentience-no-pretending

The article to be discussed was written by Brigid Brophy, an English writer. This edition is taken from a collection of her diverse writings entitled Don't Never Forget, published in 1996, while the article in question itself was first published in The Sunday Times on October 10th, 1995.