--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why are we so concerned about whether…" description: "\"Why are we so concerned about whether other animals are like human beings or not? Because we are worried about whether we should consider them kinfolk ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f4/sydney-m-lamb-280980_animal_why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-ot_1296948.png" --- # Why are we so concerned about whether other animals are… ![“Why are we so concerned about whether other animals are like human beings or not? Because we are worried about whether we should consider them kinfolk of ours, relatives. If they are relatives of ours, then we should treat them with more respect than if they are not.” quote by Sydney M. Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f4/sydney-m-lamb-280980_animal_why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-ot_1296948.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f4/sydney-m-lamb-280980_animal_why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-ot_1296948.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f4/sydney-m-lamb-280980_animal_why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-ot_1296948.png) > “Why are we so concerned about whether other animals are like human beings or not? Because we are worried about whether we should consider them kinfolk of ours, relatives. If they are relatives of ours, then we should treat them with more respect than if they are not.” Sydney M. Lamb ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates treating animals as kin, arguing moral respect should increase if they are considered relatives. **In simple terms:** Treat animals as relatives. Key Takeaway Extend respect to all living beings. Themes ethics animal rights kinship respect humanity Mood concerned reflective Type essay ethical When to use this quote - dietary choices - legislation - personal behavior Key Concepts moral philosophy anthropocentrism environmental ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does kinship influence your treatment of animals? - What actions reflect respect for non-human relatives? A Different Perspective Cultural habits may resist redefining animal status. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Kinfolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinfolk/) ## Related quotes > [Ever occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals' suffering? Because government is not. Why not? Animals don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/ever-occur-to-you-why-some-of-us-can-be-this-much-concerned-with/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) > [Of course, I love everyone I meet. How could I fail to! Within everyone is the spark of God. I am not concerned with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/of-course-i-love-everyone-i-meet-how-could-i-fail-to-within-everyone/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [The lack of emotional security of our American young people is due, I believe, to their isolation from the larger family unit. No two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/the-lack-of-emotional-security-of-our-american-young-people-is-due-i/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [All my skinfolk ain't kinfolk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/all-my-skinfolk-ain-t-kinfolk/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [From reading of the people I admired - ranging from the soldiers of Valley Forge and Morgan's riflemen to my Southern forefathers and kinfolk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/from-reading-of-the-people-i-admired-ranging-from-the-soldiers-of/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [“But in summer, welcoming summer, the rocks are soft-fledged with moss. The forest floor is bouncy with fresh shoots and enthusiastic blooms; the twisted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-o-brady/but-in-summer-welcoming-summer-the-rocks-are-soft-fledged-with-moss/) Tara O'Brady > [“Still, the first rule of cohabitation is Thou Shalt Not Diss the Other Dude’s Kinfolk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-lanyon/still-the-first-rule-of-cohabitation-is-thou-shalt-not-diss-the-other/) [Josh Lanyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-lanyon/) > [Never exalt people because they're in your family; never exalt people because they're your color; never exalt people because they're your kinfolk. Exalt them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/never-exalt-people-because-they-re-in-your-family-never-exalt-people/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [“One of my favourite things about dining outdoors in a warmer season is that it frees hands and bares skin. ... When we don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirstin-jackson/one-of-my-favourite-things-about-dining-outdoors-in-a-warmer-season/) Kirstin Jackson > [ Followers of the Way \[of Chán\], if you want to get the kind of understanding that accords with the Dharma, never be misled by… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linji-yixuan/followers-of-the-way-of-ch-n-if-you-want-to-get-the-kind-of/) [Linji Yixuan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linji-yixuan/) > [“Tell me what you know of my kinfolk. "Fee, fi, fo, fum?" Oxton muttered under his breath. Vanora raised her hand. "I've heard something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-j-townsend/tell-me-what-you-know-of-my-kinfolk-fee-fi-fo-fum-oxton-muttered/) Angela J. Townsend > [He who walks in the company of fools suffers much. Company with fools, as with an enemy, is always painful. Company with the wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/he-who-walks-in-the-company-of-fools-suffers-much-company-with-fools/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“Perhaps you'd like, you gentle fellow, To hear what I'm prepared to say On "kinfolk" and their implications? Well, here's my view of close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/perhaps-you-d-like-you-gentle-fellow-to-hear-what-i-m-prepared-to-say/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [That is where homeland is. In that shifting space, kinfolk know one another by secret signs; and wherever kinfolk meet, homeland soil coalesces about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janette-turner-hospital/that-is-where-homeland-is-in-that-shifting-space-kinfolk-know-one/) [Janette Turner Hospital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janette-turner-hospital/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) ## 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": "Why are we so concerned about whether other animals are like human beings or not? Because we are worried about whether we should consider them kinfolk of ours, relatives. If they are relatives of ours, then we should treat them with more respect than if they are not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sydney M. Lamb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-m-lamb/why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-other-animals-are-like-human/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-m-lamb/why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-other-animals-are-like-human/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f4/sydney-m-lamb-280980_animal_why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-ot_1296948.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f4/sydney-m-lamb-280980_animal_why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-ot_1296948.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f4/sydney-m-lamb-280980_animal_why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-ot_1296948.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why are we so concerned about whether other animals are like human beings or not? Because we are worried…” — Sydney M. Lamb", "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": "Sydney M. Lamb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-m-lamb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why are we so concerned about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-m-lamb/why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-other-animals-are-like-human/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-m-lamb/why-are-we-so-concerned-about-whether-other-animals-are-like-human/#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 } } ] } ```