Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did Singer compare speciesism with racism and sexism?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Three PETA protesters in animal masks and green clothing hold signs reading No Fur at a demonstration against fur in clothing at a shopping district in Seoul, South Korea. — Animal rights A PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) demonstration in Seoul, South Korea, against the use of animals for fur in clothing.

Philosopher Peter Singer compares speciesism to racism and sexism because he argues that all three are forms of irrational discrimination that rely on morally irrelevant characteristics to justify favoring one group over another.1

Central to Singer’s argument is the principle of equal consideration of interests (PEC), which asserts that one should give equal weight to the like interests of all beings affected by an action. Singer maintains that race and sex are not valid grounds for prioritizing the interests of one human over another; similarly, he argues that species membership is not a morally relevant characteristic for evaluating the interests of different beings.1

Because both humans and animals share the capacity to feel pain, they possess a fundamental interest in avoiding it. Singer contends that there is no logical justification for valuing a human's interest in avoiding pain more than an animal's equivalent interest. Therefore, he concludes that speciesism is an immoral prejudice, as it arbitrarily favors the interests of one species over others, just as racism and sexism arbitrarily favor one race or sex.123