Executive summary: Francis of Assisi’s compassion for animals arose from his Christian worldview but leads to some similar practical conclusions as modern secular animal rights thinking about factory farming harms.
Key points:
Francis’ stories depict kinship with animals based on shared creation by God, not just physical/mental similarities.
This arises from Christian doctrines like all creation praising God and humans made in God’s image.
Francis crosses boundaries and shows compassion by identifying with the poor, extending this to animals.
His compassion contradicts notions of an expanding moral circle or Christianity as anti-animal.
Francis would likely see modern factory farming as oppressive, against God’s intent for dominion.
Despite different worldviews, Francis and secular advocates would both object to factory farming’s scale and practices.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Francis of Assisi’s compassion for animals arose from his Christian worldview but leads to some similar practical conclusions as modern secular animal rights thinking about factory farming harms.
Key points:
Francis’ stories depict kinship with animals based on shared creation by God, not just physical/mental similarities.
This arises from Christian doctrines like all creation praising God and humans made in God’s image.
Francis crosses boundaries and shows compassion by identifying with the poor, extending this to animals.
His compassion contradicts notions of an expanding moral circle or Christianity as anti-animal.
Francis would likely see modern factory farming as oppressive, against God’s intent for dominion.
Despite different worldviews, Francis and secular advocates would both object to factory farming’s scale and practices.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.