Animal Rights Thought Experiment

Suppose a race of aliens invaded earth and decided to treat humans in a similar manner to the way in which humans currently treat animals. What would be our grounds for believing the aliens were acting in an unethical manner, while our own treatment of animals was justified.

For the purposes of our experiment, assume that

  • we cannot communicate with the aliens,
  • they are far more intelligent than humans
  • they have a special experience of the world that is beyond our comprehension and understanding
Firstly, this thought experiment raises the question of whether we can understand animal rights in terms of Kant's categorical imperative. If we think of this as "the maxim of my action should be a universal law of nature" then we should not treat animals any differently than how we should want to be treated by aliens of a higher intelligence than ourselves.

Secondly, it allows us to consider how moral our various treatments of animals are. Suppose the aliens decided to keep us on farms and eat us, hunt us for their pleasure, and also perform scientific experiments on us. If you had to live in one of these three groups, which would it be? Which group would you least want to be in?

Thirdly, we may also ask what the purpose of medical experiments on humans might be for the aliens. Would it really help them to cure their own illnesses by performing cruel and terrifying experiments on us?

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