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

other 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 develop “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 structure 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 the 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 conditions, requiring 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 of premise 3 are met, the stated result follows and we can infer

the conclusion.

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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