Norvelin Pichardo
Donna Fischer-Williams
Critical Thinking/Ethics – PHI2604
February 26, 2022
Blackfish Film and Animal Rights
The documentary ‘Blackfish’ focuses on the captivity of orcas, also known as killer whales. The Blackfish film illustrates the segregation, hunting practices, and destruction that faces the sea world, which comprises the whales and other animals. These practices are effectively demonstrated in the Tilikum captivity ordeal, the dolphin hunting procedure, and many different ways the hunt practices are conducted during whale hunts of sea creatures. The documentary makes an emotional appeal regarding the cruelty with which the orcas are treated. Therefore, the film helps to directly confront the spiciest ideas.
From an ethical perspective, it can be noticed that the trainers were faced with various ethical choices to be made. The first choice that they made was to work at SeaWorld. When they signed up to work at the center, they knew their job description. At the point of agreeing to work at the center, they were morally obligated to treat the Orcas as best as possible. This treatment included feeding the orcas and training them. However, as they developed relationships, they must have noticed that SeaWorld was not the natural habitat for the Orcas. The trainers, therefore, had firsthand information on the psychological stress that the orcas were experiencing while living in captivity. The trainers must also have been aware of the cruel procedures used to acquire the whales. This meant that the more they worked at the center, the more they had to improve the procedures at the center or become complacent with the status quo. According to virtue ethics, one is obligated to develop a moral character. This moral character develops with experience. For example, if the trainers had tried to develop their moral character while working at the center, they would have tried to improve the procedures for obtaining the orcas or treating them in a series of consistent efforts. For example, the film well documented that some of the orcas, Tilikum to be specific, seemed to act violently to negative conditioning during training. Such an observation should have led the trainers to look for better approaches to training the specific orca.
The film, therefore, approaches the topic of ethics from a speciesism perspective. Speciesism refers to the preferential treatment of some species at the expense of others. Speciesism arguments develop in various ways. For example, there are usually arguments that critique the human behavior to treat some animals such as cats and dogs as pets while reserving cattle for beef production, whereas all animals can perceive pain and should therefore be treated similarly. On the other hand, some speciesism arguments confront the apparent power that human beings reserve to hold other species captive simply because the human species is considered more intelligent. In the case of the SeaWorld orcas, animals considered to be highly intelligent, it shows how human beings cruelly treat the animals to have entertainment at the expense of the wellbeing of the orcas. The whole idea of capturing orcas in their infancy, separating them from their herds whereby they would have been properly cared for, and raising them in captivity under rigorous training sessions seems to be very unethical from a speciesism perspective.
Even though the trainers at SeaWorld initially failed to develop their virtuous moral character while working at the center by making the decision to be complacent, their participation and involvement in the production of the film marked a significant development in their moral character. For the film to be produced, some trainers had to share critical information about what transpired at SeaWorld. The death of their colleague most likely triggered them to finally start acting in a way that would improve the situation at the SeaWorld marine park. Although they were narrating how the captivity of the orcas may have affected the animals, it was likely out of the realization that the captivity posed harm to the animals and the trainers themselves. Therefore, it is likely that guilt was a potential motivator for the trainers and other employees at SeaWorld to participate in the film’s production while even risking their employment at SeaWorld.
Speciesism ethics have been widely popularized by philosophers such as Peter Singer and Richard Ryder. Speciesism is usually criticized based on rational arguments and analogies. Usually, speciesism is analogously compared to other irrational discrimination such as sexism, racism, and even ageism. Just as it is irrational to subjugate members of different sex or race based on superficial differences while ignoring more fundamental similarities, it can also be concluded that the subjugation of different species which are sentient enough to perceive pain like human beings is irrational CITATION Dui13 l 1033 (Duignan). Since virtue ethics are based on moral character development, it should be done rationally where mistreatment of other sentient beings should not be allowed.
Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY Duignan, Brian. Speciesism: Philosophy. 22 May 2013. <https://www.britannica.com/topic/speciesism>.
