Vegan Speak

In some ways, yes we are superior in many aspects.

I don't hold animals superior or even equal to humans. The whole case for behaving decently to animals rests on the fact that we are the superior species. We are the species uniquely capable of imagination, rationality and moral choice – and that is precisely why we are under the obligation to recognise and respect the rights of animals.

— Brigid Brophy

However, we’re not superior in our ability to fly or see in the dark, to exist under water or to navigate naturally by magnetic fields. It could be argued that some humans are superior to other humans in certain areas. Some humans are smarter, faster, stronger, better looking and so on. By this logic, the “superior” humans could in theory abuse the “inferior” ones.

Superiority doesn’t grant us a right to abuse other sentient beings. In fact, this line of thinking is what justified many atrocities in the past, like The Holocaust, black segregation, disenfranchisement of women, and so on. Of course, nobody wants animals to have the same rights as humans, like the right to vote, because this doesn’t make sense. What does make sense, however, is to grant them the right to life because their sentience means they have an interest to live, just like us.