Rifkin, Change of Heart About Animals
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Mrs. Salgado
English 4p
October 16, 2012
A Change of Heart About Rifkin Jeremy Rifkin in the article “A Change of Heart About Animals” describes how the lives of animals are all for the benefit of the human race and how animals deserve more respect. Many concerned and caring people believe that animals should be treated with love and respect. The reality of this is that Rifkin seizes to comprehend that the life without using animals as a benefit is highly unlikely and would just further complicate the already complex world we live in today. To some point I can agree with Rifkin, but highly disagree with him when it comes to how animals are only used for benefiting humans. I, like Rifkin, agree that animals deserve more respect. Animals have been proven to be more like humans than we think. In the article Rifkin uses Koko, a 300-pound gorilla as an example stating “…Koko who was taught sign language and has mastered more than 1,000 signs and understands several thousand English words and on human IQ tests, she scores between 70 and 95” (8). According to http//www.iq-test.learninginfo.org the average score of an IQ test is 100, therefore Koko is just barely below the average human. Rifkin also uses a story about an elephant that doesn’t leave its dead kin for days, and occasionally touches the kin’s body with its trunk. Rifkin gives examples that both prove how animals can show emotions and the intelligence similar of that to humans, which should alter the way humans treat animals. Unfortunately Rifkin seems to be drawn to believe that animals are just for the benefit of humans. I agree to an extent, but mostly disagree. Rifkin begins to question what humans can do to prevent killing and promoting inhumane acts upon human’s fellow creatures. Rifkin backs up his argument by using strong words like “millions of domestic animals raised under the most inhumane conditions and destined for slaughter and human consumption” (15). When Rifkin
Mrs. Salgado
English 4p
October 16, 2012
A Change of Heart About Rifkin Jeremy Rifkin in the article “A Change of Heart About Animals” describes how the lives of animals are all for the benefit of the human race and how animals deserve more respect. Many concerned and caring people believe that animals should be treated with love and respect. The reality of this is that Rifkin seizes to comprehend that the life without using animals as a benefit is highly unlikely and would just further complicate the already complex world we live in today. To some point I can agree with Rifkin, but highly disagree with him when it comes to how animals are only used for benefiting humans. I, like Rifkin, agree that animals deserve more respect. Animals have been proven to be more like humans than we think. In the article Rifkin uses Koko, a 300-pound gorilla as an example stating “…Koko who was taught sign language and has mastered more than 1,000 signs and understands several thousand English words and on human IQ tests, she scores between 70 and 95” (8). According to http//www.iq-test.learninginfo.org the average score of an IQ test is 100, therefore Koko is just barely below the average human. Rifkin also uses a story about an elephant that doesn’t leave its dead kin for days, and occasionally touches the kin’s body with its trunk. Rifkin gives examples that both prove how animals can show emotions and the intelligence similar of that to humans, which should alter the way humans treat animals. Unfortunately Rifkin seems to be drawn to believe that animals are just for the benefit of humans. I agree to an extent, but mostly disagree. Rifkin begins to question what humans can do to prevent killing and promoting inhumane acts upon human’s fellow creatures. Rifkin backs up his argument by using strong words like “millions of domestic animals raised under the most inhumane conditions and destined for slaughter and human consumption” (15). When Rifkin