"The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?""

Jeremy Bentham was a British theorist and social reformer in the late 18th and also very early 19th centuries. He is considered to be the creator of utilitarianism, a moral concept that courts the moral well worth of an activity by its capability to create the greatest quantity of happiness for the greatest number of people.

Bentham believed that all beings capable of experiencing enjoyment or discomfort, including animals, should be taken into consideration when considering ethical activities. He suggested that the capability to reason or talk was not the most essential criterion for determining moral merit. Rather, the capacity to endure need to be the vital factor to consider.

He thought that any kind of activity that triggered unnecessary or avoidable suffering was morally incorrect, despite whether it was devoted by a human or a pet. This idea of "animal rights" was cutting edge for its time and also has ended up being an integral part of contemporary ethical thinking.

In his very own words, Bentham wrote, "The question is not, can they reason? neither can they chat? yet, can they experience?" This quote summarizes his belief that the capacity to really feel discomfort and suffering is one of the most crucial factor in identifying ethical value, and that this concept must be encompassed all sentient beings.