Book chapter
English

Of Hosts and Men: Westworld and Speciesism

PublisherChichester, UK : John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Publication date2018
Abstract

People's attitude to animals is similar to the attitude Westworld has people adopt vis‐a‐vis the hosts: People often deem animal suffering acceptable because it improves their well‐being but still feel upset when an animal is mistreated just for the sake of it. Speciesism is the view that human well‐being matters more than that of other creatures. One justification for this view attempts to ground human beings' special moral status in their membership in the human species itself. Some of Westworld's characters are visibly tempted by this kind of justification. Logan is a prime example. One common argument in defense of speciesism is that non‐human animals are far less intelligent than human beings. Westworld's characters have interesting discussions about free will. In Westworld, all dialogues about free will focus on whether the hosts are determined or whether they could act otherwise.

Keywords
  • Speciesism
  • Westworld
  • Animal suffering
  • Ethics
Citation (ISO format)
JAQUET, François, COVA, Florian. Of Hosts and Men: Westworld and Speciesism. In: Westworld and philosophy: if you go looking for the truth, get the whole thing. J.B. South & K.S. Engels (Ed.). Chichester, UK : John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2018. doi: 10.1002/9781119437932.ch20
Identifiers
ISBN978-1-119-43793-2
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Creation30/08/2018 17:24:00
First validation30/08/2018 17:24:00
Update15/03/2023 08:35:26
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