--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As Jeremy Bentham had asked about animals…" description: "\"As Jeremy Bentham had asked about animals well over two hundred years ago, the question was not whether they could reason or talk, but could they suffe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/chris-bohjalian-8312_accepting_as-jeremy-bentham-had-asked-about-animal_1865728.jpg" --- # As Jeremy Bentham had asked about animals well over two… ![“As Jeremy Bentham had asked about animals well over two hundred years ago, the question was not whether they could reason or talk, but could they suffer? And yet, somehow, it seemed to take more imagination for humans to identify with animal suffering than it did to conceive of space flight or…” quote by Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/chris-bohjalian-8312_accepting_as-jeremy-bentham-had-asked-about-animal_1865728.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/chris-bohjalian-8312_accepting_as-jeremy-bentham-had-asked-about-animal_1865728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/chris-bohjalian-8312_accepting_as-jeremy-bentham-had-asked-about-animal_1865728.jpg) > “As Jeremy Bentham had asked about animals well over two hundred years ago, the question was not whether they could reason or talk, but could they suffer? And yet, somehow, it seemed to take more imagination for humans to identify with animal suffering than it did to conceive of space flight or cloning or nuclear fusion. Yes, she was a fanatic in the eyes of most of the country. . .Mostly, however, she just lacked patience for people who wouldn't accept her belief that humans inflicted needless agony on the animals around them, and they did so in numbers that were absolutely staggering.” [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that recognizing animal suffering requires more imagination than many scientific feats, highlighting human moral blindness. **In simple terms:** Seeing animal pain needs more imagination than tech advances. Key Takeaway Expand empathy toward all sentient beings. Themes ethics animal rights imagination Mood concerned thoughtful Type ethical activist When to use this quote - activism - dietary choices - policy advocacy - education programs Key Concepts moral philosophy speciesism Questions to Reflect On - How can we cultivate imagination for suffering? - What barriers prevent empathy for animals? A Different Perspective Human self‑interest often blocks empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-suffering/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Cloning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloning/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Fusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fusion/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear/) [Nuclear fusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-fusion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [Look at the great tradition of Western political philosophy. 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