---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do humans have a different moral…"
description: "\"Do humans have a different moral significance than cows in general?\" — Richard Dawkins"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/richard-dawkins-115_character_do-humans-have-a-different-moral-signifi_993792.jpg"
---

#  Do humans have a different moral significance than cows in…

![“Do humans have a different moral significance than cows in general?” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/richard-dawkins-115_character_do-humans-have-a-different-moral-signifi_993792.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/richard-dawkins-115_character_do-humans-have-a-different-moral-signifi_993792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/richard-dawkins-115_character_do-humans-have-a-different-moral-signifi_993792.jpg)

> “Do humans have a different moral significance than cows in general?”

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The question asks whether humans hold a distinct moral status compared to cows.

**In simple terms:** Do humans have higher moral value than cows?

Key Takeaway

Examine moral criteria across species.

Themes

ethics speciesism animal rights philosophy

Mood

inquisitive analytical

Type

ethical philosophical

When to use this quote

- policy making
- dietary choices
- education

Key Concepts

moral relativism sentience environmental ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- What grounds moral differences between species?
- How should this affect our treatment of animals?

A Different Perspective

Moral significance is context‑dependent and debated.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/)

## Related quotes

> [The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance, is a positively outrageous example…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-assumption-that-animals-are-without-rights-and-the-illusion-that/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [Political realism is aware of the moral significance of political action. It is also aware of the ineluctable tension between the moral command and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/political-realism-is-aware-of-the-moral-significance-of-political/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [What we choose to embrace, to be responsive to, is the purest reflection of who we are and what we love. That is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-we-choose-to-embrace-to-be-responsive-to-is-the-purest-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Leaders shouldn?t attach moral significance to their ideas: Do that, and you can?t compromise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/leaders-shouldn-t-attach-moral-significance-to-their-ideas-do-that/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [“Herder put forward the idea that each of us has an original way of being human. Each person has his or her own "measure"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-taylor/herder-put-forward-the-idea-that-each-of-us-has-an-original-way-of/)

[Charles Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-taylor/)

> [I'm saying that the moral climate within the ruling class in this country is not that different from the moral climate within the ruling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-clennon/i-m-saying-that-the-moral-climate-within-the-ruling-class-in-this/)

[David Clennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-clennon/)

> [People come to have different moral beliefs because they have different non-moral beliefs about relevant facts. People are disposed to believe whatever justifies the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/people-come-to-have-different-moral-beliefs-because-they-have/)

[David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/)

> [Every major power always seeks to justify its action on moral grounds. Such behaviour is almost as old as the hills. The west has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/every-major-power-always-seeks-to-justify-its-action-on-moral-grounds/)

[Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/)

> [The moral climate within the ruling class in this country is not that different from the moral climate within the ruling class of Hitler's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-clennon/the-moral-climate-within-the-ruling-class-in-this-country-is-not-that/)

[David Clennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-clennon/)

> [ Robert Nozick \[a Havard philosopher, famous for his book "Anarchy, State and Utopia"\] defined revenge as delivering the message that you know what someone… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/robert-nozick-a-havard-philosopher-famous-for-his-book-anarchy-state/)

[Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/)

> [With any story I write, I could actually write it from three or four different perspectives, which would end with a completely different moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/with-any-story-i-write-i-could-actually-write-it-from-three-or-four/)

[Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/)

> [We all have a different moral barometer, whether it is something we are okay with or not okay with. Like I find some things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-evans/we-all-have-a-different-moral-barometer-whether-it-is-something-we/)

[Gareth Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-evans/)

> [That is the gay agenda...it is the recreation of society on a different moral foundation and the problem with that is that moral foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lively/that-is-the-gay-agenda-it-is-the-recreation-of-society-on-a-different/)

[Scott Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lively/)

> [It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, "mad cow" disease, and many others, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-is-fashionable-to-wax-apocalyptic-about-the-threat-to-humanity/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Evolution may explain some features of the moral law, but it can't explain why it should have any real significance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/evolution-may-explain-some-features-of-the-moral-law-but-it-can-t/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

## More by Richard Dawkins

> [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

[Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

## More Animal quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

Mak\_786

> [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/)

[Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/)

[Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/)

> [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/)

[Gary L. 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": "Do humans have a different moral significance than cows in general?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Richard Dawkins"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/do-humans-have-a-different-moral-significance-than-cows-in-general/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animal"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/do-humans-have-a-different-moral-significance-than-cows-in-general/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/richard-dawkins-115_character_do-humans-have-a-different-moral-signifi_993792.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/richard-dawkins-115_character_do-humans-have-a-different-moral-signifi_993792.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/richard-dawkins-115_character_do-humans-have-a-different-moral-signifi_993792.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Do humans have a different moral significance than cows in general?” — Richard Dawkins",
                "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": "Richard Dawkins",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Do humans have a different moral...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/do-humans-have-a-different-moral-significance-than-cows-in-general/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/do-humans-have-a-different-moral-significance-than-cows-in-general/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
