Guidelines for Making Ethical Decisions Regarding Animals

The inquiry in the first paragraph of Chapter 1, page 2, which asks “Pet the cat or kick it?” is
interesting in today’s world since there are so many organizations and articles about the
prevention of cruelty towards animals.
Presently, there is a belief among the young generation that any decision is based on an
individual’s personal preferences and is subjective, and there is no standardized right or
wrong version to any decision. This is known as moral relativism. However, as it is a known
fact that most decisions are based on the biases and prejudices and never with proper
analysis. The best way to come to an ethical and logical decision is to follow certain basic
guidelines (Armstrong & Botzler, 2017).
Be aware of 1st impressions – What impressions should we be aware of?
In the case of animals, one needs to be more careful about the first impression since they are
not capable of speaking. But is the animal here to harm me or just passing by? So one needs
to be completely aware of the first impression and understand how the mind is inclined and
needs balancing accordingly.
Check for all relevant facts – What are the facts? Research.
In this case, one needs to do a research or ask knowledgeable people around and read various
articles about cats to see whether animals in general will harm or not. The facts regarding this
should be collated to increase the knowledge base and at the same time help one’s self to
take a better informed decision.
Consider all positions and their supporting arguments – What do you think? Why? What do
others think? Why do they think that?