Lecture 8 human animal relations

Question 1

‘Sociology has been constructed as if nature didn’t matter’

Answer 1

Murphy 1994

Question 2

Who argues that animal behaviour is meaningless and irrelevant to sociologists since they have no sense of self and don’t act they merely behave due to instinct.

Answer 2

Mead

Question 3

who argues that the new-found security from animals as a threat generated an increasing concern to protect and preserve wild animals in their natural environment?

Answer 3

Thomas 1983

Question 4

Thomas 1983 argued that throughout medieval Europe and into the 1500s, people lived a mainly rural existence in close proximity to animals. describe how this was the case?

Answer 4

Animals were taken for granted, very visible and were bound up with survival – they were essential for food, transport, labour and warmth. People often shared where they lived with their animals under their roofs and animal bodies provided heat

Question 5

what does Thomas 1983 say about dominion and how the enlightenment and more secular ways of thinking were smuggled into old ways of thinking

Answer 5

he argues there was an idea of Christian dominion – sometimes this was constructed as stewardship or in terms of simple domination – this was central to dominant discourse that people had the right to dominate animals since the universe was seen through The Great Chain of Being as a hierarchy from god
The Enlightenment undermined the theological worldview, but this was replaced by a secular version of human dominion. The great chain of being gave way to evolution which ended up meaning basically the same thing through philosophers like Descarte – evolutions doesn’t represent any hierarchy but it was construed in similar ways to the great chain of being – e.g. some species are more highly evolved than others. (Although Darwin never says this.)

Question 6

how does Thomas 1983 argue industrialisation and urbanisation transform human animal relations?

Answer 6

In the 18th – 19th century industrialisation reduced dependency on animal labour power and urbanisation increased distance between humans and animals. This distance is key in how people started thinking about animals in less economic ways because it gave the opportunity to think about animals in a way less geared up to exploiting them because they weren’t so reliant on them and they could begin to romanticise them. People became more enthusiastic about understanding and respecting them and adopted ‘pets’ and objects of affection which encouraged sentimental attitudes to animals and the formation of animal welfare movements in the mid-late 19th century. Pet keeping was most prevalent amongst the urban middle class – the class that had the least strong direct relationship with animals

Question 7

according to Thomas 1983 what weakened assumptions about mans uniqueness and what was there a new concern for?

Answer 7

a more scientific understanding of natural history and of animals
and there was a new concern for the suffering of animals and the environment - instead of destroying forests and uprooting all plants without practical value, people began to plant trees and flowers for emotional satisfaction and some animals were protected who had no utility. It began to be seen that every species had a purpose and were useful in different ways.

Question 8

where did Thomas 1983 see a contrast in perceptions of animals?

Answer 8

some animals were thought of aesthetic and beautiful, whilst farm animals were bred to be most useful and as objects of profit not beauty.

Question 9

Who said there were moral objections to the treatment of animals as the threat from wild animals retreated. Meat eating became seen by some as unnecessary rather than essential and science showed how men could have been vegetarian originally and aspects of the bible agreed men should not murder animals and some thought that meat eating symbolised man’s fallen condition?

Answer 9

Thomas 1983

Question 10

Thomas 1983 argued that attitudes emerged towards the natural world that were incompatible with the direction in which English society was moving. For example; the growth of towns led to longing for the countryside and the new-found security from wild animals generated an increasing concern to protect wild animals and preserve them in their natural state.
Economic independence from animal labour and urban isolation from animal farming had nourished…

Answer 10

..emotional attitudes which were hard to reconcile with the exploitation of animals by which most people living. An increasingly sentimental view of animals does not jostle well in a world where the elimination of pests and breeding of animals for slaughter grows more and more efficient.

Question 11

what does Goldsmith argue?

Answer 11

that people pity and eat the objects of their compassion. Children today eat animals and are protected by medicine developed by animal experiments and take toy animals to bed. For adults, nature parks are a fantasy which enshrine the values by which society as a whole cannot live by

Question 12

what did Thomas 1993 say about cruel actions towards animals?

Answer 12

that they had a functional purpose of placing a distance between animals and humanity - it established them as a distinctive other

Question 13

according to Franklin 1999 what did pet keeping encourage the middle classes to do?

Answer 13

form optimistic conclusions about animal intelligence and create a psychological foundation that some animals were entitled to moral consideration

Question 14

what does Franklin 1999 say about Thomas 1983?

Answer 14

that Thomas overemphasizes role of urbanisation since the rural/urban division was not so clear cut and animals continued to have utilitarian uses in urban areas such as horses for transport

Question 15

What does Franklin 1999 argue about ontological insecurity and risk?

Answer 15

he argues in the 20th century, the main causes of change was ontological insecurity and risk. The loss of faith in the stability of the social basis of identity and the ability to construct a meaningful life led people to suffer at the hands of issues such as job and housing insecurity, higher divorce rates and loss of community. He argued people responded to this by developing relationships with pets which provided a sense of security, stability and pleasure. People are less bound to each other by moral ties of the family, community and class and this is why people are developing increasingly empathetic relationships with animals in late modernity. 
Arguably ontological insecurity is becoming worse in industrial society because life becomes more unstable (Beck – risk society)

Question 16

who argues that animals have often become substituted love objects in single person households and childless partnerships. The non-humanity of pets is what makes the relationship reliable and trust worthy – a dog can’t let you down like a person can and providing for something that needs care is rewarding. and how many households have a pet?

Answer 16

Franklin 1999

1 in 2 households now have a pet

Question 17

what does Franklin 1999 say about animals as a source of anxiety?

Answer 17

Animals in contemporary societies are often a source of anxiety and associated with various risks for example food scares about infected meat, zoonotic diseases such as swine flu, anxiety about endangered species and concerns for animal welfare. Furthermore, anxiety arises from humanity being increasingly seen in a critical way, as a destructive species, damaging the environment and other species and the spread of this attitude promotes a less human-centred perception of animals.

Question 18

According to Franklin 1999 what has the 20th century done to human associations with animals?

Answer 18

• The 20th century has added a more legal and institutionalised apparatus concerned with animal welfare and has changed the economic, political and cultural face of human associations with animals. This has led to shifts in attitudes toward intensive animal food production, for example growing concern for the welfare of intensively farmed animals who are increasingly recognised as sentient beings and this has led to increasing regulation. This is represented in the dramatic rise of vegetarianism and animal welfare/ rights movements.

Question 19

Franlin 1999 argues that during the earlier part of the 20th century modernisation privileged human progress and so there were prices to pay for the greater human good, what were they? and what happened after the 1960’s?

Answer 19

animal exploitation, extinction and experimentation.
After the 1960’s this compromise began to fall apart. Relations with animals were revised in a series of pro-animal movements and changes in the ways humans involved animals in their lives.

Question 20

According to Franklin 1999 how was Fordism a marker of change in the modernisation of human animal relations?

Answer 20

since the arrival of cheap motorised transport removed the need for horse drawn carriages which was the last instrumental relationship with animals people had in their lives

Question 21

According to Franklin 1999 what had the greatest impact on human animal relations and why?

Answer 21

Generalised affluence and mass popular culture had the greatest impact since it produced more free time and the conditions for leisure cultures. E.g. as the amount of annual leave grew so did opportunities for trips to outdoor locations and activities involving animals like horse riding. Also, higher wages supported pet keeping.

Question 22

What does Burnett 1996 say?

Answer 22

that throughout the western world, meat eating was a key register of social progress.

Question 23

What does Franklin 1999 say about meat eating?

Answer 23

Meat eating grew dramatically from the last quarter of the 19th century from intensive animal rearing developments and improvements and improvements in freezing technologies that permitted long distance exports. This meant contact with animals in terms of their dead flesh hugely increased. However, alongside this increased meat consumption came an increased distaste for the process of slaughter and butchery which has led to the popular presentation of meat as hardly recognisable as an animal carcass.
Meat was a food strongly recommended by governments and health authorities in all western countries. Vegetarianism was considered eccentric in this period.

Question 24

who argued that on one hand animals were seen as sentient beings and protected against cruel treatment and on the other they were increasingly perceived as human products and therefore rightfully consumable like any other product

Answer 24

Franklin 1999

Question 25

what did Franklin 1999 say about the love of animals that developed in the 20th century?

Answer 25

the focus of zoos was changed and emphasis was on protecting and promoting endangered species and the mood of entertainment and spectacle shifted to one of empathy. Animals were kept in habitats with their nature taken into consideration.
Television brought animals into the home due to an increased interest in animals arising from hobbies and outdoor leisure since this stimulated the demand for mass media representations of animals which became characters in cartoons and children’s stories. They were given more moral identity in these representations and were romanticised.

Question 26

who argues that animal welfare groups have attempted to raise public awareness of the production of meat by campaign images showing the conditions of factory farming which question these romantic images and perceptions of farming

Answer 26

Franklin 1999

Question 27

what did the Council for Science and Society in 1988 say about what pets were being used for?

Answer 27

that pets are now used to treat depression and schizophrenia, the care of the elderly and terminally ill

Question 28

who argues that human action and morality towards animals is a projection of ideal relations between humans.

Answer 28

Hannigan 1995

Question 29

What does Franklin 1999 argue there is an absence of in Thomas’ work?

Answer 29

social structural coherence and the role and influence of the state, church and landowners

Question 30

What did Elias and Dunning 1986 argue about sport?

Answer 30

that sport was about having a controlled means of expressing excitement and about providing relaxation and a sense of relief from the tensions of modern living. Modern life required more and more restraint over the impulses and emotions but at the same time produced more and more tensions for individuals to deal with. The history of sports gradually eliminates violence for example, blood sports and even early football rules condoned much more violence than today. Animal sports in the 19th century such as bullfighting were about a build-up of pleasurable excitement and a resolution. The gradual replacement of animals for humans in violent sports could being interpreted as a civilising spurt

Question 31

who notes that early RSPCA campaigners had lots of public support for the humane and kind treatment of animals but this dwindled when it came to enacting legislation. At a time when there was a huge problem of law and order in the cities, the idea that ill treatment of animals was the foundation of cruelty had great appeal. In order to help animals they had to pass legislation which required appealing to the concerns of the governing classes, dressing up their campaign to stop violence to animals as a social discipline. and what does he say about the RSPCA’s early activity?

Answer 31

Ritvo
Most of the RSPCA’s early activity was dealing with cruelties associated with economic activities e.g. 84% of convictions were cruelty to horses

Question 32

What does Tester 1991 argue about the evelopment of anti-cruelty legislation? that it was not primarily about animals, but about disciplining the working class. Things that were very violent were banned as threat to social order framed through animal welfare. It was done by saying how their leisure with animals was exceptionally cruel in a way that upper-class animal sport like fox hunting wasn’t

Answer 32

that it was not primarily about animals, but about disciplining the working class. Things that were very violent were banned as threat to social order framed through animal welfare. It was done by saying how their leisure with animals was exceptionally cruel in a way that upper-class animal sport like fox hunting wasn’t

Question 33

who says that modern human-animal relations are ultimately structured by two competing discourses: the demand for difference and the demand for similitude.

Answer 33

Tester 1991

Question 34

what does Tester 1991 say about early modern England when animals were seen as a distinctive other?

Answer 34

that virtually anything could be done to them. Aggressive behaviour towards animals was an active way for humans to define themselves as the centre of the universe

Question 35

what does Elias argue about the nature experience?

Answer 35

that as humans have come to understand natural forces more, fear them less and use them more effectively, more sympathetic attitudes have been generated and people have become more caring about the environment and desired to protect it and animals. The nature experience has changed. Forests, meadows and mountains are now a place associated with relaxation rather than fear and danger and those who don’t have everyday access to these spaces grow more sensitive to them which leads to a more aesthetic appreciation of nature

Question 36

what does Benton 1993 argue about endangered or wild animals?

Answer 36

that we often give endangered or wild animals more value and more rights while stripping domesticated animals of value. E.g. Cesil the lion who was turned into an individual because he was a tracked lion. And the outrage when in a Danish zoo a baby giraffe was culled. A lot of the outrage of course came from meat eaters which shows a contradiction then in our cultural categories.

Question 37

What does Benton 1993 say about animal rights discourse and its effectiveness?

Answer 37

that it fails to take account of how social structures shape human-animal relations. Mainstream animal rights discourse can only ever be so effective within the current economic social structure when animals are exploited for profit, e.g. the dairy and meat industry. Only major changes in social organisation will lead to major changes in treatment of animals.

Question 38

who argued that industrialisation impacted profoundly on human-animal relations in agriculture, with mass production lowering costs of meat and dairy, encouraging mass consumption when previously meat consumption was defined by social class. and what does he say about the animal in the process of industrialisation?

Answer 38

Benton 19993
In the process of industrialization, the animal has been increasingly turned into an object, either as a raw material (meat), or an agricultural machine e.g. dairy cows within an intensive mass production system. Fordist assembly line techniques have been adapted to mechanise slaughter.

Question 39

what does Adams argue about food animals in late modernity?

Answer 39

animals as foods in late modernity have become a source of multiple social anxieties, tensions and contradictions. E.g. as Benton argues Intensive animal farming has become associated with risks to human and environmental health which has led to the middle classes choosing to eat less meat or eat organic meat, whereas the working classes still eat more mass produced intensively farmed meat.

Question 40

who notes the class division in terms of species kept as pets. For example, the middle and upper classes keep horses, pedigree dogs and cats and exotic animals while the working classes kept cross-breed or ‘mongrel’ cats and dogs

Answer 40

Ritvo 1987

Question 41

Tester 1991 argues that treating animals as family members represents an anthropomorphisation of the animals while Franklin 1999 argues…

Answer 41

…pet-keepers are not just anthropomorphising animals, they are also thinking about animals as animals, and forming relationships on the basis of cross-species similarities.

Question 42

what are some of Benton’s 9 categories of human animal relationships?

Answer 42

animals in labour e.g. police horses and guide dogs, animals to meet bodily needs E.g. food and clothing, animals as entertainment e.g. dog fighting, animals as pets and as profit or for maintaining social order which overlap with other categories for example, food animals or police sniffer dogs.

Question 43

who argues that sociologists have tended to ignore or not recognise the importance of our relationship with animals and the influence of them on our social behaviour and relationships with other humans. In reality animals are both materially and culturally embedded in our everyday lives. They are included in our language with zoological references for example blind as a bat, in our food, in our clothes, in our homes, in the stories we tell our children for example Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Answer 43

Bryant 1979

Question 44

what is the evidence according to Bryant 1979 that there is virtually no area of social life untouched by animals?

Answer 44

We are prone to label much of our material culture with animal labels, e,g. children play with teddy bears and eat animal crackers. Our leisure activities are dominated by animal orientated behaviour e.g. Hunting, bird watching, horse riding. Even athletic teams are often have animal names in totemic fashion e.g. swimming groups named the dolphins

Question 45

According to Bryant 1979 how have animals sometimes been social problems istorically and cross-culturally and how did they influence our social behaviour?

Answer 45

e.g. man eating tigers disrupting village life in rural India, locusts destroy crops
they influence social behaviour by for example insects interfering with picnics, we are woken up by singing birds, we let the dog out last thing at night.

Question 46

who notes that a recent scientific study showed that people who have a dog are more likely to survive a heart attack ?

Answer 46

Friedmann and Katcher

Question 47

what does Bryant 1979 say about at and dog population in the US?

Answer 47

In the US dog and cat population is approximately one half of the human population and growing at a much faster rate. In 1974, Americans spent 2.5 billion dollars on pet food, six times the amount spent on baby food

Question 48

what does Bryant 1979 say about dog attacks?

Answer 48

that every year in New York 38,000 people are attacked by dogs and the loss of livestock from attacks by dogs is counted in the millions

Question 49

who argues that we often take the view that a child needs a companion to grow up and interact with, a dog becomes a surrogate brother or sister. We tend to use animals especially dogs as replacement actors for people in understaffed social groups

Answer 49

Bryant 1979

Question 50

who argues that in many sociologists’ imaginings of ‘nature’, domestic animals are largely invisible.

Answer 50

Tovey 2003

Question 51

what does Tovey 2003 say about Dunlap and Catton and how does he criticise the way they want to bring nature back into society?

Answer 51

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dunlap and Catton argued that sociology adhered to Enlightenment thinking which they labelled the Human Exemptionalist Paradigm since sociology reproduced an image of humans as ‘exceptional’ since they were considered ‘exempt’ from the ecological constraints which govern other species. An adequate sociology would have to commit itself to a New Ecological Paradigm in which humans are dependent on nature like other species are, despite our possession of some ‘exceptional’ traits such as reason and culture.
However it is clear that the NEP with which Catton and Dunlap want to replace the Human Exemptionalist Paradigm equally has no place in it for animals. The ‘nature’ they want to bring back into sociology is mainly depicted as a supply or habitat

Question 52

what did Dryzek 1987 argue about humans relationship with nature?

Answer 52

that we need not be either nature’s master, nor nature’s slave, we can also become nature’s friend, recognising human embeddedness in nature.

Question 53

who argues that animal rights has nothing to do with concern for animals suffering at the hands of humans but is about making humans feel good as moral agents arguing for those who cannot argue for themselves

Answer 53

Tester

Question 54

what does Haraway 1989 say about the study of primates?

Answer 54

that they tell us nothing about the animals themselves but about the social locations and political opinions of the people who undertook the research.

Question 55

Singer 1990 argued the discrimination and oppression of animals constituted speciesism which Ryder 2000 defines as..

Answer 55

..the assumption of human superiority over non-human animal species.

Question 56

who argues that the idea of speciesism can be problematic as it ignores the vast differences across the multi-variate animal species and how does Singer deal with this?

Answer 56

Cooper 1995
Singer argues that all vertebrate animal groups (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians) are sentient and so can have rights attributed to them

Question 57

who argues that most human beings are speciesist and through everyday practices such as meat eating most of us are complicit in animal abuse

Answer 57

Midgley 1983

Question 58

what does Twig 1983 argue is interesting in perceptions about meat? and what does Adam 1990 argue?

Answer 58

it is interesting that perceptions are that men should eat more meat, this idea carries cultural symbolism of meat as associated with masculine strength.
Adams 1990 argues this may explain why vegetarianism is higher in females