When news emerged last week that a big game hunter, Walter Palmer, had killed a protected lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe, the outrage and sadness from public quarters were tremendous -- even funnyman Jimmy Kimmel choked up recounting the story on his talk show.
Something about the cold-blooded killing of a lion provokes a more visceral reaction from many people, but why?
As psychologist Michael Shermer explains in his book "The Moral Arc," one of the many arcs of the moral universe that are bending toward justice is animal rights. Humans, he says, have expanded our moral spheres to include other sentient beings: the closer to us on an evolutionary scale, the more we care, especially for primates and marine mammals. Moreover, Shermer of Skeptic Magazine says we recognize that animals do not kill and torture for sport, whereas humans do, and we've come to shift our moral priorities in that direction.
Finally, regardless of whether an animal or human has suffered, we are primed to care more about individuals than groups, which is why charity ads often feature a single starving child instead of hundreds. Our empathy networks attach to one person or animal and treat them as an honorary relative, friend, or member of our tribe.
Did the killing of Cecil provoke a strong response in you?
Guest:
Michael Shermer, author of “The Moral Arc;” founder of Skeptic magazine; and adjunct professor at Claremont Graduate University and Chapman University