--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To attribute rights to animals is to…" description: "\"To attribute rights to animals is to ignore the purpose and justification of rights - to protect the interests of man.\" — Alex Epstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alex-epstein-37108_animal_to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ign_1719831.jpg" --- # To attribute rights to animals is to ignore the purpose… ![“To attribute rights to animals is to ignore the purpose and justification of rights - to protect the interests of man.” quote by Alex Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alex-epstein-37108_animal_to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ign_1719831.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alex-epstein-37108_animal_to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ign_1719831.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alex-epstein-37108_animal_to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ign_1719831.jpg) > “To attribute rights to animals is to ignore the purpose and justification of rights - to protect the interests of man.” [Alex Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-epstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rights are justified only when they protect human interests; extending them to animals ignores this basis. **In simple terms:** Rights protect humans, not animals. Key Takeaway Focus on human-centered rights. Themes ethics humanism animal rights Mood critical analytical Type philosophical argumentative When to use this quote - policy making - environmental law - public health debates Key Concepts Moral philosophy rights theory Questions to Reflect On - Should human interests always outrank animal welfare? - What are the consequences of redefining rights? A Different Perspective Extending rights to animals may dilute human protections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals Ignore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-ignore-1327260/) [Attributes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Justification Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification-rights-1327258/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-justification-1327259/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-animals-511937/) [Rights Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-protect-396401/) ## Related quotes > [All discussion, all debate, all dissidence tends to question and in consequence, to upset existing convictions; that is precisely its purpose and its justification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/all-discussion-all-debate-all-dissidence-tends-to-question-and-in/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [But I always reassure them that as far as my contractual rights can go, I will protect them and make sure that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/but-i-always-reassure-them-that-as-far-as-my-contractual-rights-can/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [The disgraceful and shameful construction of walls, the increasing enforcement of security systems and increasing violation of human rights and labor rights will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicente-fox/the-disgraceful-and-shameful-construction-of-walls-the-increasing/) [Vicente Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicente-fox/) > [“Only by vigilance toward everyone's rights do we protect anyone's rights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-pitts-jr/only-by-vigilance-toward-everyone-s-rights-do-we-protect-anyone-s/) [Leonard Pitts Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-pitts-jr/) > [That's the key - to maintain the garden of liberty, right? 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Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To attribute rights to animals is to ignore the purpose and justification of rights - to protect the interests of man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alex Epstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-epstein/to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ignore-the-purpose-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-epstein/to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ignore-the-purpose-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alex-epstein-37108_animal_to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ign_1719831.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alex-epstein-37108_animal_to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ign_1719831.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alex-epstein-37108_animal_to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ign_1719831.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To attribute rights to animals is to ignore the purpose and justification of rights - to protect the…” — Alex Epstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alex Epstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-epstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To attribute rights to animals is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-epstein/to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ignore-the-purpose-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-epstein/to-attribute-rights-to-animals-is-to-ignore-the-purpose-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```