Practice Set F for CLAT 2022: The modern animal rights movement, emerging in the 1970s, can be seen as a response to prevailing attitudes in both science and religion, particularly within Christianity. Joseph Rickaby’s statement in 1888 that “Brute beasts, not having understanding and therefore not being persons, cannot have any rights” reflects the moral insensitivity that has characterized Western views on animals, taken to an extreme. This insensitivity results from a combination of influences.
Firstly, the otherworldly tendency in Christianity, at its worst, devalues earthly things compared to spiritual matters, with little acknowledgment of the world of non-human creatures in traditional Catholicism. Secondly, the idea, common to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, that animals exist instrumentally for human use, as resources in creation, further contributes to this insensitivity. This concept, taken from Aristotle and adopted by Aquinas, creates a hierarchy where the intellectually inferior exists for the benefit of the intellectually superior.
Thirdly, the notion of human superiority in creation, combined with the biblical idea of being made “in the image of God,” has historically led to an overwhelming focus on humanity rather than an egalitarian concern for all God-given life. The result is a religious doctrine asserting that humans are inherently more important than animals, justifying a lack of moral consideration for the latter. These influences, in turn, have supported scientific exploration and the use of animals in experimentation, as seen in figures like Francis Bacon and René Descartes.
Questions
Jesuit Joseph Rickaby’s articulation on animals may be termed as:
(A) Eco-centric view of animals
(B) Anthropocentric view of animals
(C) Ethnocentric view of animals
(D) Androcentric view of animals
2. According to the author, how did Christianity contribute to insensitivity of the West towards animals?
(A) It denigrated the value of earthly things in comparison with spiritual things.
(B) It divided the world into beings with and without reason.
(C) It propagated as if animals are transient or peripheral in human centric economy of salvation.
(D) All the above.
3. Which of the following is closest to the meaning of the word ‘instrumentalism’ as used in the passage?
(A) Pragmatism
(B) Idealism
(C) Egalitarianism
(D) None of the above
4. Which of the following is not true in the context of the passage?
(A) Western philosophy and science are both under the influence of religion.
(B) Western philosophical views on animals have been influenced by religious notions about them.
(C) Western religious notions on animals have justified subjection of animals to scientific experimentation.
(D) Some of the scientific views on animals have been influenced by religious notions about them.
5. It may be inferred from René Descartes’ view that
(A) It as irrational to assume that animals have awareness and some mental capacities.
(B) Animals are automata or they act mechanically.
(C) Neither (A) nor (B)
(D) Both (A) and (B)
Answers:
1. B
2. D
3. D
4. A
5. D
Read Also: Practice Set B for CLAT 2021 English Language Previous Year Questions
