“The behavior of other animals renders such pretensions specious. They are just too much like us.”

—  Carl Sagan , book Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

"Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" (1992) (co-written with Ann Druyan)
Context: Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain. A sharp distinction between humans and 'animals' is essential if we are to bend them to our will, make them work for us, wear them, eat them — without any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret. It is unseemly of us, who often behave so unfeelingly toward other animals, to contend that only humans can suffer. The behavior of other animals renders such pretensions specious. They are just too much like us.

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Carl Sagan 365
American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science ed… 1934–1996

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