“Why Animals Matter”

In honor of the birthday of Charles Darwin, Hugh Taft-Morales will explore the use and abuse of animals by homo sapiens. Non-human creatures serve as pets, are served on plates, and are strapped down for product testing. As guinea pigs and companions they are fundamental to our lives, but we rarely consider them independent of their value relative to human projects. Have they inherent worth? Hugh will discuss some recent studies in animal cognition that may surprise us and affect how we see our fellow inhabitants of planet earth.

Hugh Taft-Morales joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its professional leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the American Ethical Union as an Ethical Culture Leader. He also serves as Leader of the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. His presence in Ethical Culture has been termed “invigorating.” Taft-Morales lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife Maureen, a Latin American Analyst with the Congressional Research Service, with whom he has three beloved children, Sean, Maya, and Justin.