Are Endangered Species Worth Saving?

The most recent species to go extinct is the Western black rhino. As an article in Scientific American explains, this resulted from human cruelty and greed – humans over-hunted the Western black rhino for its horn which, according to traditional Chinese medicine, could cure anything from cancer to fever. Scientific ignorance plays a part in this story…

View Post

Ernst Haeckel’s ‘Art Forms in Nature’

Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) was a German biologist, philosopher and artist. He discovered and described thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree of all species (a tree which shows how species are related), and coined several biological terms, such as ecology and stem cell. He published his multi-colour illustrations of animals and sea life in…

View Post

Animal Ethics in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism

Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest religions. There are many sub-traditions within Hinduism, but there are two beliefs about humans which seem to dominate the religion’s view of animals. The first belief recognises that humans exist on a continuum with the rest of life and that we are not completely separated from other animals. The…

View Post