For the Animals
An Argument Guide PT

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Map of connections

Whoever loses an indirect argument usually retreats to a direct one, and vice versa. Knowing the chain helps anticipate the next objection.

The three roots

Almost every chain of objections, once exhausted, ends in one of these three. The rest work as protective layers: answer the layer, but aim at the root.

A10

They're just animals.

Explicit speciesism: species membership as a moral criterion, like race in racism

Full chapterJ11

Meat tastes good.

Taste as a justification for killing: no other context accepts this

Full chapterE12

I know it's wrong, but I won't change.

Admitted weakness of will: concedes the moral point and refuses its consequence

Full chapter

The two most common chains

Casual conversation

Starts in Part DIR, escapes to IND and comes back to DIR.

  1. C1
  2. C2
  3. G1
  4. G3
  5. H1
  6. H2
  7. L5
  8. K1
  9. E1
  10. Roots

Philosophical debate

Stays entirely in Part DIR.

  1. B1
  2. A16
  3. A1
  4. A11
  5. Roots

Typical chains

Hover over a code to see the phrase, or click to open the answer.

Naturalist

  1. C1
  2. C2
  3. C3
  4. C5
  5. C11

Usually ends in: G1 ("but it's necessary")

Nutritional

  1. G1
  2. G2
  3. G3
  4. G10
  5. G11

Usually ends in: E1 ("my body, my choice")

Welfare

  1. B1
  2. B2
  3. B5
  4. B6
  5. A16

Usually ends in: A1 and A11

Moral status

  1. A1
  2. A12
  3. A11
  4. A13
  5. F2

Usually ends in: A10

Environmental

  1. H1
  2. H2
  3. H4
  4. H3
  5. H8

Usually ends in: H13 ("if it's sustainable, it's fine")

Powerlessness

  1. K1
  2. K2
  3. B4
  4. K4
  5. L5

Usually ends in: E6 ("I do what I can")

Cultural

  1. D1
  2. D2
  3. D3
  4. E2

Usually ends in: E1

Messenger

  1. L1
  2. L2
  3. L4
  4. L5
  5. L9

Usually ends in: E12 or the end of the conversation

Edge cases

  1. F1
  2. F2
  3. F3
  4. F4
  5. A15

Usually ends in: A10

Practicality

  1. J9
  2. J1
  3. J13
  4. J11
  5. J12

Usually ends in: J11

Natural, normal, necessary and nice

The families fit the "4Ns" of Piazza and colleagues (2015), the four most common rationalizations for eating meat: natural (family C), normal (D and E), necessary (G, H and J) and nice (J11).