Created Equal: A Case for the Animal-Human Connection
“I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.” ––Abraham Lincoln
Many great thinkers throughout history, including Lincoln, Gandhi, Einstein, and Edison, have been vocal supporters of the sanctity of life and apponents of the notion that human have dominion over the Earth’s creatures. Tragically, the majority of our society regards animals as inferior, often resulting in cruelty, and the pointless deaths of billions of animals each year. This has led to the animal rights movement that is the subject of heated debate in contemporary society.
In Created Equal, Ernie Bringas takes the debate to a higher level—he argues for the concept of animal equality. But why should we consider all animals to have equal value? Is it possible that all animals share equal worth with humans? If so, how do we apply animal equality in a way that’s right, practical, and sensible?
At once playful and thought provoking, far-reaching, and soul-searching, Bringas examines these important questions with logical precision and force. He reveals how the assumption of human superiority degrades the lives of all animals, both human and non-human. With warmth, insight, and humor he tackles such controversial topics as killing for sport, meat consumption, animal research, and even insect ethics. Created Equal will disturb you, inspire you, and leave you wondering about humankind’s real place on the cosmic totem pole.
“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.” —Thomas Edison
REVIEWS:
- Midwest Book Review on January 13, 2004: “Created Equal: A Case For The Animal-Human Connection persuasively argues for the concept of animal-human equality. For millennia, the majority of human society has regarded animals as inferior, and used this point of view to justify unspeakable cruelty and exploitation. Created Equal explores a different philosophy and path, the better to enlighten ourselves with respect to human/animal relationships and interdependencies, and to make the world a better place for all forms of life sharing Planet Earth.”
- Dr. Robert L. Erickson (former director of Hunger Network in Ohio) & Rev. Lee Neish (minister of the United Methodist Northern California Conference): “This is a wonderful book—that is to say, full of wonder and perhaps unique in literature. Arguing for the concept of animal equality (the equal inherent worth of all species), Bringas delivers his case with logical precision and force.” Sometimes a scientist, sometimes a philosopher, sometimes a comic, sometimes the assessor of public opinion, he is constantly a teacher attempting to correct a dominating ignorance and indifference to the rightful status of animals.
But is it possible that other animals share equal worth with humans? The answer herein is not simply a possible yes, but an emphatic yes! Even the most tenacious skeptic will find this engaging argument compelling. You are invited to read it, and be disturbed.”
BOOK INFORMATION:
- Purchase at Amazon
- Published by Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2003.
- Paperback: 184 pages.