Assignment

1 Running head: THE ETHICS OF ELEPHANTS IN CIRCUSES The Ethics of Elephants in Circuses Dr. Christopher Foster PHI103: Informal Logic Ashford University Annotated example for Week One Assignment 2 THE ETHICS OF ELEPHANTS IN CIRCUSES This is the argument in Standard Form.

Standard Form means putting each premise and conclusion on a separate line, as observed here. Labeling the premises P1, P2, etc.

is also helpful to be able to refer to them later. The next four paragraphs provide support for each premise of the argument. The topic of each paragraph is clear from the opening sentence. It is good to provide clarification of the meaning of premises as well (as indicated in the instructions). P1: Elephants are highly intelligent animals. P2: Putting elephants in circuses requires them to live their lives in extreme confinement. P3: Anything that requires highly intelligent animals to live their lives in extreme confinement is wrong unless it serves a purpose that outweighs the suffering involved. P4: Putting elephants in circuses does not serve a purpose that outweighs the suffering involved. C: Therefore, putting elephants in circuses is wrong. The first premise has been widely known for decades by those who have studied elephants. Scientific studies have shown that elephants are able to independently discover novel methods to figure out how to retrieve food, and they have recently been shown to be able to enlist the help of other elephants in situations that require cooperation (Jabr, 2014). The second premise is justified by looking at how elephants are treated in circuses. When not performing or being transported, circus elephants are kept on a short chain that prevents them from being able to move around or even lie down normally. This is what is meant by ‘extreme confinement’: captivity so severe that the animal is not able to get proper exercise and stimulation. In addition to the captivity, there 3 THE ETHICS OF ELEPHANTS IN CIRCUSES have been many reports, and footage, of abuse of circus elephants with bullhooks, electrocution, and ot her forms of cruelty (Nelson, 2011). The third premise makes a strong moral claim. Given the intelligence of elephants, and their natural use of vast savannahs of space, life spent on a tiny chain will involve a tremendous amount of suffering. They develo p “stereotypic behaviors” such as constant swaying back and forth, indicating severe psychological distress (Wildlife Advocacy Project, n.d.). President of PAWS, Ed Stewart, expresses it well: Elephants should not be in captivity – period … The social stru cture isn’t correct, the space is not right, the climate is not right, the food is not right … They are unbelievably intelligent. With all of that brainpower – to be as limited as they are in captivity – it’s a wonder they cope at all. (Jabr, 2014) My final premise states that keeping elephants for circuses does not serve a purpose that outweighs the suffering involved. It is clear that many people enjoy the circus. However, how does their enjoyment compare against the suffering of the elephants? It should be noted that many circuses operate without the use of animals. Acrobats, clowns, and other human performers provide a riveting show without elephants. Given that elephants only provides some added measure of entertainment, this purpose does not outweigh t he tremendous suffering due to confinement inflicted on these intelligent beings. 4 THE ETHICS OF ELEPHANTS IN CIRCUSES This part demonstrates that the conclusion follows in a deductively valid manner from the premises (as indicated in the instructions). This argument is deductively valid - if all of the premises are true, then the conclusion must be as well. The third premise says that anything meeting two condition s, requi ring highly intelligent beings to live in extreme confinement and not serving an outweighing purpose, is wrong . Premises one and two together show that the first condition is met. Premise 4 shows that the second condition is met. Since both conditions o f premise 3 are met, the stated result follows and we can infer the conclusion. 5 THE ETHICS OF ELEPHANTS IN CIRCUSES References Jabr, F. (February 26, 2014). The science is in: Elephants are even smarter than we realized. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the -science -is -in - elephants -are -even -smarter -than -we -realized -video Nelson, D. (2011). The cruelest show on earth. Mother Jones . Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2011/10/ringling- bros-elephant -abuse Wildlife Advocacy Project (n.d.). Tools of the circus trade. Retrieved from http://www.wildlifeadvocacy.org/current/circus/tools_of_the_trade.php