The Universal Kinship is a 1906 book by American zoologist and philosopher J. Howard Moore. In the book, Moore presents Universal Kinship, a secular sentientist philosophy based on Darwinian principles of shared evolutionary kinship and the application of the Golden Rule to all sentient beings. The book criticizes anthropocentric ethical systems and argues that moral concern should extend beyond the human species. The book developed arguments Moore had made in Better-World Philosophy (1899) and was followed by The New Ethics (1907). It was endorsed by several contemporary figures, including Henry S. Salt, Mark Twain, Jack London, Eugene V. Debs, and Mona Caird.
Background
J. Howard Moore (1862–1912) was an American zoologist and philosopher. He was an advocate of animal rights and ethical vegetarianism, and his writings drew on zoology, evolutionary theory, and moral philosophy. Moore was also connected with the humanitarian movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including campaigns concerned with the treatment of both humans and animals. The Universal Kinship was one of several works by Moore on vegetarianism, animal ethics, and evolutionary thought, including Why I Am a Vegetarian (1895), Better-World Philosophy (1899), and The New Ethics (1907).
Publication history
The book's publisher, Charles H. Kerr & Co., included the book in its International Library of Social Science series, which was described as "positively indispensable to the student of socialism." In 1906, the same year as the book's original publication, The Whole World Kin, a condensed version of the book, was published in London by George Bell & Sons. George Bell & Sons also published an unabridged edition, as did the Humanitarian League. In the same year, Felix Ortt produced a Dutch translation of the book. In 1908, Ōsugi Sakae and Sakai Toshihiko translated the book into Japanese. The book was out of print for several years, but was reissued by Charles H. Kerr & Co. in 1916 after renewed demand. It was reissued by Centaur Press in 1992, edited by animal rights philosopher Charles R. Magel. The edition included appendices such as "letters from Moore to Salt, a biographical essay and the eulogy Clarence Darrow delivered at Moore's funeral."
Summary The Universal Kinship is divided into three parts, on physical, psychical, and ethical kinship between humans and nonhuman animals. To support his arguments, Moore drew "extensively upon the fields of geology, paleontology, and biology, together with the works of evolutionary scientists such as Darwin, Huxley, Haeckel, Romanes, and Lubbock."
The Physical Kinship The first section concerns biological continuity between humans and other animals. Moore argues that humans are not fundamentally separate from other animals, but belong within the animal kingdom and share common ancestry with other living beings. Moore discusses the classification of humans as vertebrates and mammals, pointing to shared characteristics such as internal skeletons, four-chambered hearts, and the ability to nourish offspring with milk. He also discusses the relationship between humans and other primates, particularly the anthropoid apes, emphasizing similarities in anatomy, behavior, and evolutionary history. He uses these comparisons to reject the idea of an unbridgeable gulf between humans and other species. The section also discusses homology, treating similarities among species as evidence of common ancestry and evolutionary processes.
The Psychical Kinship The second section concerns mental and emotional continuity between humans and other animals. Moore challenges the view that human consciousness and mental abilities are unique in kind, arguing that capacities such as problem-solving, memory, emotion, and social behavior are also found, in varying degrees, among nonhuman animals. Moore describes a conflict between science and inherited tradition, arguing that religious and cultural beliefs had encouraged the idea that humans possess a unique, divinely granted soul or consciousness. Against this, he cites developments in biology, psychology, and the study of animal behavior as evidence that many animals exhibit cognitive and emotional capacities similar to those of humans. Moore argues that mental faculties evolved in animals just as physical traits did. He discusses problem-solving, social organization, and communication as evidence that human and nonhuman minds differ in complexity rather than in kind.
The Ethical Kinship The final section concerns the moral implications of human-animal kinship. Moore traces the development of human ethics from early self-interested conduct to broader forms of altruism and compassion. He argues that moral concern expanded over time but remained limited by anthropocentrism. Moore criticizes ethical systems that place human interests above all other forms of life and justify the exploitation of animals. He argues that this contradicts the Golden Rule, which, if applied consistently, should extend beyond the human species to all sentient beings. In presenting Universal Kinship, Moore calls for the revision of human ethical principles in light of evolutionary continuity. He argues that humans should recognize duties toward other animals and extend compassion and justice to them.
Reception
The Universal Kinship was praised by several contemporary writers and reformers. The English writer Henry S. Salt, Moore's friend and fellow animal rights advocate, later described the book in his autobiography as "the best ever written in the humanitarian cause". After the book's publication in the United Kingdom, Salt promoted it through his Humanitarian League network. The book received positive reviews in The Daily Telegraph, the Evening Standard, The Clarion, and Reynold's News. American socialist Eugene V. Debs wrote: "[i]t is impossible for me to express my appreciation of your masterly work. It is simply great, and every socialist and student of sociology should read it." Debs was inspired by the book to publish "Man and Mule", an article reflecting on the relationship between humans and mules. Moore sent a copy of the book to the American writer Mark Twain, who replied:
The book has furnished me several days of deep pleasure and satisfaction; it has compelled my gratitude at the same time, since it saves me the labor of stating my own long-cherished opinions and reflections and resentments by doing it lucidly and fervently and irascibly for me.
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