Between species and sciences: a reflection about the scientific argumentation practive to legitimize the animal cause

Abstract

Throughout modernity, scientific knowledge is established as the only true knowledge and some principles underlie its practices, among which we highlight the goal of domination of nature, the supremacy of the human species and the epistemological validity of fact. Nevertheless, the discoveries made by science enabled the questioning of some of its own grounds, such as human supremacy, and thus engendered the development of animal welfare arguments based on facts. In this context, the aim of this paper is to discuss how the development of knowledge about animals and their human relations has contributed to transformations of ethical emplacements that underlie the everyday actions. Through the dog Scooby case analysis, we see that despite some changes, human life has the privilege on the lives of other species.