Q&A: Between Insects and Cats
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Between Insects and Cats
Question
Why don’t we see a moral problem in killing a cockroach/mouse/gecko/ant/spider just because they disgust us, even if they haven’t harmed us and even if we’re sure they have no ability to harm us—just purely out of revulsion—but we do see a moral problem with someone killing a dog or a cat because they are disgusted by them? That is, what are the “rules” here?
Answer
These are not rules but feelings. In general, there is a claim that the lower a creature is on the chain of life (the less developed it is), the less value its life has (killing a plant is less severe than killing a mosquito or a cat). But I am really not sure about that.
Does the Rabbi have a more plausible argument?