I brake for animals: an analysis of discourses about the human sensitivity in relation to the animals

Abstract

The project intends to analyze discourses about the human sensitivity in relation to the animals produced in the legal, scientific and non-governmental organizations fields, in order to observe differences of constancy and intensity in the statement that these last ones have characteristics such as sensations, emotions, intelligence and language. We sought to verify the hypothesis that even within these pro-animal sayings, the recognition of their pain and sensitivity is more constant and intense than their cognitive and linguistic abilities. Based on the discourse analysis derived from Michel Pêcheux and from contributions by Michel Foucault, we will seek to identify what is said about the sensitivity of humans to animals and how their statements are formulated over the last fifty years, period whose initial milestone is the publication of the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights. More precisely, our purpose is to answer questions such as: what and how did the legal, scientific and non-governmental organizations talk about the subject? Are there discursive units that cross these fields and others that would be their own? What are the different durations of the already-said about the relations between humans and animals? How are resumed, reformulated, refuted or erased the statements coming from the fields studied here and from other sectors, such as the agriculture, pharmacy and cosmetics industries? In order to formulate answers to these questions, we will look at the cited declaration, animal rights laws and bills, human and natural science books that discuss this issue, and texts from non-governmental animal websites dedicated to the animal cause. (AU)