ALTEX :: Alternatives to Animal Experiments

2006, VOLUME 4

Perception independent of interest: a contribution to the relationship between people and animal

Andreas Brenner

Philosophisches Seminar der Universität Basel, Basel, Schweiz

SUMMARY

In occidental cultures the relation of humans to animals is determined by the human perception of the outer world. Using motives from evolutionary epistemology it is argued that the evolutionary pressure to adapt increasingly obscures perception, where perception means relating to the outer world in a way that is independent of interests. Therefore, the pressure to adapt and to realise the interest to adapt obscures perception. This results in a reduced self-perception. Two phenomena exemplify this: persons ignoring their own bodies and a reductive perception relating to animals, such as reducing the value of animals to mere human resources. This reductive perception explains the very limited success of the animal rights-debate.

Keywords: evolutionary epistemology, inner world, interest, outer world perception, reality