Speciesism is a term used in philosophy regarding the treatment of individuals of different species. The term has several different definitions within the relevant literature. Some sources specifically define speciesism as discrimination or unjustified treatment based on an individual's species membership, while other sources define it as differential treatment without regard to whether the treatment is justified or not. Richard D. Ryder, who coined the term, defined it as "a prejudice or attitude of bias in favour of the interests of members of one's own species and against those of members of other species". Speciesism results in the belief that humans have the right to use non-human animals, which scholars say is pervasive in the modern society. Studies from 2015 and 2019 suggest that people who support animal exploitation also tend to endorse racist, sexist, and other prejudicial views, which furthers the beliefs in human supremacy and group dominance to justify systems of inequality and oppression.
Henry S. Salt criticized the idea that there exists a "great gulf" between humans and other animals.
Richard D. Ryder coined the term "speciesism" in 1970.
Peter Singer popularized the idea in Animal Liberation (1975).
Anti-speciesism protest in Montreal in 2015
Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, religion, physical attractiveness or sexual orientation. Discrimination typically leads to groups being unfairly treated on the basis of perceived statuses based on ethnic, racial, gender or religious categories. It involves depriving members of one group of opportunities or privileges that are available to members of another group.
An African-American man drinking from a racially segregated water cooler marked "Colored", in Oklahoma City c. 1939
Nationalists in Corsica sometimes spray-paint or shoot traffic signs in French.
Anti-Arab sign in Pattaya Beach, Thailand
German warning in German-occupied Poland 1939 – "No entrance for Poles!"