--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The question is not can animals speak but…" description: "\"The question is not can animals speak but can they suffer.\" — Jeremy Bentham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jeremy-bentham-7785_animal_the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-bu_828728.jpg" --- # The question is not can animals speak but can they suffer. ![“The question is not can animals speak but can they suffer.” quote by Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jeremy-bentham-7785_animal_the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-bu_828728.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jeremy-bentham-7785_animal_the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-bu_828728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jeremy-bentham-7785_animal_the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-bu_828728.jpg) > “The question is not can animals speak but can they suffer.” [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral consideration should focus on the capacity to suffer, not on the ability to speak. **In simple terms:** Suffering matters more than speech. Key Takeaway Prioritize preventing suffering. Themes ethics animal rights philosophy Mood thoughtful serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - animal welfare legislation - research ethics - dietary choices Key Concepts utilitarianism sentience Questions to Reflect On - Do we have reliable ways to assess animal pain? - What responsibilities arise from recognizing sentience? A Different Perspective Suffering is hard to measure objectively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-speak-539448/) [Question Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-animals-539447/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Speak Suffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-suffer-539449/) [Suffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [But the question is, whether the animals who endure such sufferings of various kinds for the service and entertainment of man, would accept existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals-who-endure-such-sufferings-of/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-animals-could-speak-the-dog-would-be-a-blundering-outspoken-fellow/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Animals cannot speak, but can you and I not speak for them and represent them? 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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": "The question is not can animals speak but can they suffer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeremy Bentham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-but-can-they-suffer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-but-can-they-suffer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jeremy-bentham-7785_animal_the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-bu_828728.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jeremy-bentham-7785_animal_the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-bu_828728.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jeremy-bentham-7785_animal_the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-bu_828728.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The question is not can animals speak but can they suffer.” — Jeremy Bentham", "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": "Jeremy Bentham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The question is not can animals...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-but-can-they-suffer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-but-can-they-suffer/#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 } } ] } ```