Insects in ethics

Ethical positions concerning insects

A common fruit fly; these insects are commonly used in scientific experiments

Insects and human ethical obligations towards them have been discussed by a number of writers and figures throughout history, many of whom, arguing from a variety of different perspectives, have contended that there exists a moral obligation towards not harming or killing insects. According to generally accepted definitions in animal welfare and agricultural ethics, however, it is argued that individual insects do not have a "right to life".

## Religious perspectives

[edit]

### Jainism

[edit]

A Jain monk carrying a broom to move insects without harming them and wearing a mask to avoid accidentally inhaling flying insects

Jain monks take considerable precautions to avoid, even unintentionally, harming even the smallest living beings, including insects.[1] Breaches of the fundamental principle of Ahimsā (non-violence) impacts one's karma negatively, especially when destruction of life is brought about by carelessness, though violence against insects impacts karma less so than so-called "five-sensed creatures" (e.g. humans); In Jainism, there is a hierarchy of the forms of existence, where beings are categorized according to the number of senses they possess. Insects may differ in this; for example, worms have two senses, ants three, and flies four.[2] Thereby, their respective destruction affects karma differently.[3]

### Buddhism

[edit]

According to Buddhist principles, insects, are considered as sentient beings, who should not be harmed or killed.[4] It has been described in a story of the life of the Buddha, that he once commanded monks to discontinue their travels during monsoon season, to avoid the killing of worms and insects on the muddy roads.[5] Following the example of Jainism, Buddhist monks frequently make use of a strainer to avoid killing small animals when drinking water.[1]

### Taoism

[edit]

Jon Wynne-Tyson, in The Expanding Circle, quotes the Tai-shang kan-yingp'ien: "Have a compassionate heart toward all creatures… Even insects".[6] He also attributes a quote to Wen Ch'ang in Yin-chih-wen, which states: "Whenever taking a step, always watch for ants and insects. Prohibit the building of fires outside (lest insects be killed)".[6]

### Judaism

[edit]

The Sefer Hasidim, a medieval Hebrew work, instructs its followers to never inflict pain on animals, including insects, and to not kill wasps or flies.[7]

### Christianity

[edit]

Soame Jenyns, an English MP and writer, argued that: "We are unable to give life, and therefore ought not wantonly to take it away from the meanest insect, without sufficient reason; they all receive it from the same benevolent hand as ourselves, and have therefore an equal right to enjoy it."[8] William Ellery Channing stated in a letter that he would never kill an insect and asserted that insects have been given the same right to life as humans by God; he also argued that killing them would spoil the work of God's creation.[9]

Insects and their Habitations: A Book for Children, published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in 1833, instructed children that it was a sin against God to unnecessarily harm insects and that if they should encounter one in distress, they should not harm them, but provide them aid.[10][11]: 241

## Historical perspectives

[edit]

The 11th-century Arab poet and philosopher Al-Maʿarri described the compassion of releasing a flea from his hand as being kinder than giving money to a human in need. He asserted that both the flea and human take precautions against death and have a passion to continue living.[12]

The early animal rights writer Lewis Gompertz, an early vegan,[13] argued against the killing of silk worms to procure silk.[14]

## Animal rights and welfare

[edit]

Peter Singer argues that a lack of knowledge around the capacity for insects to have subjective experiences means that "insect rights" is not yet something that should be campaigned for.[15]

The entomologist Jeffrey A. Lockwood argues that:

> Considerable empirical evidence supports the assertion that insects feel pain and are conscious of their sensations. In so far as their pain matters to them, they have an interest in not being pained and their lives are worsened by pain. Furthermore, as conscious beings, insects have future (even if immediate) plans with regard to their own lives, and the death of insects frustrates these plans. In that sentience appears to be an ethically sound, scientifically viable basis for granting moral status and in consideration of previous arguments which establish a reasonable expectation of consciousness and pain in insects, I propose the following, minimum ethic: We ought to refrain from actions which may be reasonably expected to kill or cause nontrivial pain in insects when avoiding these actions has no, or only trivial, costs to our own welfare.[16]

An ethical analysis around the issue of killing harmful animals (other than for meat production or product testing) concluded that it is allowable under the following conditions:

* they pose innocent threats to human life;
* they serve as innocent shields to threats to human life;
* we and the animals are in a "lifeboat" type of situation in which all cannot survive.

In such a situation, a prima facie right to life of an animal is overridden. In general, insects are not postulated to have such rights anyway, and moreover, agricultural ethics concerns itself with the morality of killing harmful mammals (predators, herbivores) or disease vectors (rats). "Insect killing" is strictly an ecological concern due to the use of potentially harmful insecticides, and the event of killing a single insect is quantitatively neglectable.[17]

## Cultural depictions

[edit]

It has been argued that Shakespeare expressed sympathy for insects, specifically in his 1604 play Measure for Measure, where the character Isabella states: "The sense of death is most in apprehension. / And the poor beetle that we tread upon, / In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great / As when a giant dies."[11]: 99–100

In the poem "On Cruelty", John Clare refers to rescuing flies from the webs of spiders: "E'en 'plaining flies to thee have spoke, / Poor trifles as they be; / And oft the spider's web thou'st broke, / To set the captive free."[18]

The idiom "wouldn't hurt a fly" is used to refer to someone who is gentle and who would not do anything to cause harm or injury.[19]

## See also

[edit]

* Ahimsa
* Cruelty to animals
* Ethics of uncertain sentience
* Insect cognition
* Insect euthanasia
* Pain in invertebrates
* Welfare of farmed insects

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Keown, Damien (2005). Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 15\. ISBN 978-0-19-280457-0.
2. ^ Shah, Harendra; Shah, Bhavna. "Jiva and Ajiva (Soul & Lifeless Substances)". Retrieved June 8, 2025.
3. ^ Dundas, Paul (2002) [1992]. Hinnells, John; Smart, Ninian (eds.). The Jains. Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices (2 ed.). New York City: Routledge. pp. 95, 161–163\. ISBN 0-203-39827-0.
4. ^ Heirman, Ann (2020-11-30). "Protecting Insects in Medieval Chinese Buddhism: Daoxuan's Vinaya Commentaries". Buddhist Studies Review. 37 (1). doi:10.1558/bsrv.18495. ISSN 1747-9681.
5. ^ Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 968\. doi:10.1515/9781400848058. ISBN 978-1-4008-4805-8.
6. ^ a b Wynne-Tyson, Jon (1985). The Extended Circle: A Dictionary of Humane Thought. Fontwell: Centaur. p. 56\. ISBN 978-0-900001-22-2.
7. ^ Lerner, Pablo; Rabello, Alfredo Mordechai (2006). "The Prohibition of Ritual Slaughtering (Kosher Shechita and Halal) and Freedom of Religion of Minorities". Journal of Law and Religion. 22 (1): 1–62\. ISSN 0748-0814. JSTOR 27639037.
8. ^ Jenyns, Soame (1793). Cole, Charles Nalson (ed.). The Works of Soam Jenyns. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). London: T. Cadell. p. 190.
9. ^ Unti, Bernard (2002-01-01). "The Quality of Mercy: Organized Animal Protection in the United States 1866-1930". Animal Welfare Collection: 34.
10. ^ Insects and their Habitations: A Book for Children. p. 48.
11. ^ a b Preece, Rod (2003). Awe for the Tiger, Love for the Lamb: A Chronicle of Sensibility to Animals. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-49180-5. OCLC 437055953.
12. ^ Nicholson, Reynold Alleyne (1921). Studies in Islamic Poetry. Cambridge: University Press. p. 202.
13. ^ Renier, Hannah (March 2012). "An Early Vegan: Lewis Gompertz". London Historians. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
14. ^ Gompertz, Lewis (1992). Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes. Fontwell: Centaur Press. p. 110.
15. ^ Singer, Peter (2016-05-12). "Are Insects Conscious?". Project Syndicate. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
16. ^ Lockwood, Jeffrey (1988-07-01). "Not to Harm a Fly: Our Ethical Obligations to Insects". Between the Species. 4 (3). doi:10.15368/bts.1988v4n3.10.
17. ^ Pluhar EB. (1988). "When is it Morally Acceptable to Kill Animals?" Journal of Agricultural Ethics, Volume 1, pp. 211-224. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
18. ^ Clare, John (1820). Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery. London: Taylor & Hessey. p. 112.
19. ^ "wouldn't hurt a fly". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 2021-03-23.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Lockwood, Jeffrey A. (1987). "The Moral Standing of Insects and the Ethics of Extinction". The Florida Entomologist. 70 (1): 70–89\. doi:10.2307/3495093. ISSN 0015-4040. JSTOR 3495093.
* Monsó, Susana; Osuna-Mascaró, Antonio (2020-01-01). "Problems with basing insect ethics on individuals' welfare". Animal Sentience. 5 (29). ISSN 2377-7478.
* Villamor, Alejandro (2021). "The Suffering of Invertebrates: An Approach from Animal Ethics" (PDF). Tópicos: Revista de Filosofía. 61: 403–420.

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Methodologies|

* Direct Action Everywhere
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* World Animal Day
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Advocates (academics, writers, activists)

| Academics
and writers|

| Contemporary|

* Carol J. Adams
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Historical|

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Activists|

| Contemporary|

* James Aspey
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|

Historical|

* Cleveland Amory
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| Groups|

| Contemporary|

* American Anti-Vivisection Society
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* Voiceless

|

Historical|

* Canadian Anti-Vivisection Society
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Parties|

* Animal Justice Party (Australia)
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* Human Environment Animal Protection Party (Germany)
* Italian Animalist Party (Italy)
* Party for the Animals (Netherlands)
* People Animals Nature (Portugal)
* V-Partei³ (Germany)

Activism|

* Animal Rights National Conference

Media (books, films, periodicals, albums)

| Books|

* On Abstinence from Eating Animals (3rd century)
* A Reasonable Plea for the Animal Creation (1746)
* A System of Moral Philosophy, in Three Books (1755)
* The Cry of Nature (1791)
* An Essay on Humanity to Animals (1798)
* An Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral Duty (1802)
* Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes (1824)
* The Rights of Animals (1838)
* The Ethics of Diet (1883)
* A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays (1886)
* Animals' Rights: Considered in Relation to Social Progress (1892)
* Evolutional Ethics and Animal Psychology (1897)
* Better-World Philosophy (1899)
* The Logic of Vegetarianism (1899)
* The Universal Kinship (1906)
* The New Ethics (1907)
* Animals, Men and Morals (1971)
* Animal Liberation (1975)
* The Case for Animal Rights (1983)
* Morals, Reason, and Animals (1987)
* Zoos and Animal Rights (1993)
* Animals, Property, and the Law (1995)
* The Lives of Animals (1999)
* Eternal Treblinka (2001)
* Do Animals Have Rights? (2005)
* Striking at the Roots (2008)
* An American Trilogy (2009)
* An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (2010)
* Animal Rights Without Liberation (2012)
* Political Animals and Animal Politics (2014)
* Animal (De)liberation (2016)
* Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights (2016)
* Sentientist Politics (2018)
* Wild Animal Ethics (2020)
* Animal Ethics in the Wild (2022)
* Making a Stand for Animals (2022)
* Animal Rights Law (2023)
* The Moral Circle (2025)

|

Films|

* The Animals Film (1981)
* A Cow at My Table (1998)
* Shores of Silence (2000)
* The Witness (2000)
* Meet Your Meat (2002)
* Legally Blonde 2 (2003)
* The Meatrix (2003)
* Peaceable Kingdom (2004)
* Earthlings (2005)
* Behind the Mask (2006)
* Your Mommy Kills Animals (2007)
* Food, Inc. (2009)
* The Cove (2009)
* Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home (2009)
* Forks Over Knives (2011)
* Vegucated (2011)
* An Apology to Elephants (2013)
* Speciesism: The Movie (2013)
* The Ghosts in Our Machine (2013)
* Unlocking the Cage (2016)
* Land of Hope and Glory (2017)
* Carnage (2017)
* Okja (2017)
* Dominion (2018)
* Seaspiracy (2021)

Periodicals|

| Journals|

* Animal Sentience
* Between the Species
* Cahiers antispécistes
* Etica & Animali
* Journal of Animal Ethics
* Relations. Beyond Anthropocentrism
* The Animals' Defender

|

Magazines|

* Arkangel
* Bite Back
* Muutoksen kevät
* No Compromise
* Satya

Albums|

* Animal Liberation (1987)
* Tame Yourself (1991)
* Manifesto (2008)
* Salvation of Innocents (2014)
* Onward to Freedom (2014)

Fairs and exhibitions|

* Holocaust on your Plate (2003)

* Category ( 138 )

* v
* t
* e

Animal welfare

Issues|

* Abandoned pets
* Animal husbandry
* Animal testing
* Animals in sport
* Artificial insemination
* Barn fire
* Battery cage
* Beak trimming
* Bile bear
* Blood sports
* Captivity
* Chick culling
* Culling
* Concentrated animal feeding operation
* Cow-calf separation
* Dairy farming
* Discretionary invasive procedures on animals
* Eating live animals
* Eating live seafood
* Eyestalk ablation
* Feedback (pork industry)
* Foam depopulation
* Foie gras controversy
* Forced molting
* Fur farming
* Gestation crate
* Hunting
* Horse pain caused by the bit
* Intensive animal farming
* Intensive pig farming
* Livestock branding
* Livestock dehorning
* Livestock transportation
* Pet rental
* Poultry farming
* Puppy mill
* Testing cosmetics on animals
* Ventilation shutdown
* Vivisection
* Welfare of farmed insects
* Wild animal welfare
* Wildlife farming
* Zoos

Concepts|

* Abnormal behaviours in animals
* Animal psychopathology
* Animal shelter
* Animal welfare science
* Anthrozoology
* Behavioral enrichment
* Compassionate conservation
* Conservation welfare
* Ethics of uncertain sentience
* Ethical omnivorism
* Five Domains model
* Five Freedoms
* Humane law enforcement
* Intrinsic value in animal ethics
* Rescue group
* RSPCA Assured
* Three Rs principles
* Welfare biology

Pain|

* Pain in amphibians
* Pain in cephalopods
* Pain in crustaceans
* Pain in fish
* Pain in invertebrates
* Grimace scale

Organisations|

* ASPCA
* Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society
* Animal Defenders International
* Animal Welfare Committee
* Animal Welfare Party
* Animals' Friend Society
* American Humane
* Animal Aid Unlimited
* Animal Welfare Board of India
* Animal Welfare Institute
* Animal Welfare Investigations Project
* Badger Trust
* Band of Mercy
* Battersea
* Best Friends Animal Society
* Blue Cross
* Blue Cross of India
* Care for the Wild International
* Cats Protection
* Church Society for the Promotion of Kindness to Animals
* Compassion in World Farming
* CAWF
* Cinnamon Trust
* Dogs Trust
* DSPA
* DSPCA
* Eurogroup for Animals
* Four Paws
* FRAME
* Hedgehog Care
* Humane Canada
* Humane Farm Animal Care
* HSUS
* Humane Society International
* Humane Slaughter Association
* International Animal Rescue
* IFAW
* International Society for Applied Ethology
* ISPCA
* List of animal welfare organizations
* League Against Cruel Sports
* Marine Connection
* National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports
* Network for Animals
* Lord Dowding Fund for Humane Research
* MSPCA-Angell
* National Animal Welfare Trust
* National Anti-Vivisection Society
* National Council for Animals' Welfare
* OneKind
* Party for Animal Welfare
* People for Animals
* People's Dispensary for Sick Animals
* RNZSPCA
* RSPCA
* RSPCA Australia
* Save Me
* Scottish Animal Welfare Commission
* SSPCA
* Tiggywinkles
* Toronto Humane Society
* UFAW
* Wildlife Aid Foundation
* World Animal Protection
* World Horse Welfare

Publications|

* American Humane Magazine
* Animal Protection
* Animal Welfare
* AWI Quarterly
* Cruel Sports
* Human Advocate
* Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science
* Our Dumb Animals
* The Animals' Friend
* The Animals' Guardian
* The Cat
* The Zoophilist

Books|

* A Few Notes on Cruelty to Animals (1846)
* Black Beauty (1877)
* Diet for a New America (1987)
* Min ko vill ha roligt (1990)
* Miracle Dog (2005)
* Striking at the Roots (2007)
* Pawprints of Katrina (2008)
* No Animals Were Harmed (2011)

Activists
and workers|

| Contemporary|

* Michael C. Appleby
* Cynthia Bathurst
* Matthew E. Bershadker
* Christa Blanke
* Moira Brown
* Jan Cameron
* Judy MacArthur Clark
* Kendra Coulter
* Peter Ronald Davies
* Petra Deimer
* Alanna Devine
* Robin Ganzert
* Celia Hammond
* Alison Hanlon
* Brian Hare
* Kathrin Glock
* Emily Patterson-Kane
* Philip Lymbery
* Damien Mander
* Christine Nicol
* Wayne Pacelle
* Sharon Pincott
* Ilka Reinhardt
* Jill Robinson
* Naomi Sagara
* Sepehr Salimi
* Adolfo Sansolini
* Rakesh Shukla
* Karen Stockin
* Patti Strand
* Sally Varma
* Tina M. Widowski

|

Historical|

* Gertrude Ansell
* Emily Appleton
* Gertrude Baillie-Weaver
* H. Baillie-Weaver
* Madeleine Bemelmans
* Henry Bergh
* Annie Bradshaw
* Victoria Braithwaite
* Mary Brancker
* Benjamin Bryan
* Roger A. Caras
* Ada Cole
* Edith Cole
* Jim Cronin
* Brian Davies
* Gerard Lysley Derriman
* Maria Dickin
* Marjorie Doggett
* Muriel Dowding
* Alice Drakoules
* Sarah J. Eddy
* Thomas Erskine
* Agnes Estcourt-Oswald
* Edward G. Fairholme
* Aida McAnn Flemming
* Lucy Furman
* Basil Goldstone
* Julia Goddard
* Robert Gower
* Norman Child Graham
* Colesworthey Grant
* George Greenwood
* Peter Gurney
* Catherine Victoria Hall
* Edward Hemingway
* Rachel Hirschfeld
* Sjoerd Hofstra
* Clive Hollands
* Douglas Houghton
* John A. Hoyt
* W. Hugenholtz
* Rowland Johns
* Velma Bronn Johnston
* Albert Knapp
* Agnes von Konow
* Titus Lander
* Carla Lane
* Etta Lemon
* Victoria Lidiard
* George Watson Little
* Alasdair Alpin MacGregor
* Terry Maple
* Fergus MacCunn
* Frederick Messer
* Richard Martin
* Shirley McGreal
* Lady Mount Temple
* Harriet Nevins
* Felix Ortt
* Catherine Louisa Pirkis
* Eliza Phillips
* Maude Gillette Phillips
* Duchess of Portland
* Samuel Jackson Pratt
* Nancy Price
* Wilfred Risdon
* Peter Roberts
* Jules Rühl
* Jan Salter
* Olive Smith-Dorrien
* Catherine Smithies
* Thomas Bywater Smithies
* Herbert Snow
* Ellin Prince Speyer
* Christine Stevens
* Douglas S. S. Steuart
* Elisabeth Svendsen
* Mary Tealby
* Ralph Waldo Trine
* Sidney Trist
* Ethel Venton
* M. Dudley Ward
* Jessey Wade
* Christopher Wathes
* Franz Weber
* Caroline Earle White
* Emily Williamson
* H. Fergie Woods
* Alice Morgan Wright
* Gretchen Wyler

Scholars
and writers|

| Contemporary|

* Arnold Arluke
* Jonathan Balcombe
* Michael Balls
* Geoffrey Barstow
* Marc Bekoff
* Donald Broom
* Marian Dawkins
* Bob Fischer
* Bruce Fogle
* Jane Goodall
* Temple Grandin
* Celia Haddon
* Jane Hurst
* Erich Hoyt
* Barbara J. King
* Alistair Lawrence
* David Macdonald
* Jeremy Marchant
* Jeff McMahan
* Daniel Mills
* Sy Montgomery
* Virginia Morell
* Yew-Kwang Ng
* Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell
* Clare Palmer
* Susan J. Pearson
* Dale Peterson
* Jessica Pierce
* Diana Reiss
* Carl Safina
* Matthew Scully
* Paul Shapiro
* Jennifer Skiff
* Brian Tomasik
* Peter Wohlleben

|

Historical|

* George T. Angell
* Patrick Bateson
* Beddow Bayly
* Ernest Bell
* Edward Berdoe
* Arthur Broome
* Jean Burden
* Gerald Carson
* W. H. Cock
* Stephen Coleridge
* Christian Adam Dann
* J. Morewood Dowsett
* Audrey Eyton
* George Fleming
* Ralph Fletcher
* Ruth Harrison
* Caroline van der Hucht-Kerkhoven
* C. W. Hume
* E. Douglas Hume
* Beatrice Lindsay
* James Macaulay
* Basheer Ahmad Masri
* Francis Orpen Morris
* George Nicholson
* Siobhan O'Sullivan
* Charles Reinhardt
* Francis H. Rowley
* W. M. S. Russell
* Chris Sherwin
* Colin Spedding
* William O. Stillman
* John Styles
* Bell Taylor
* Ernst von Weber
* D. G. M. Wood-Gush
* Frans de Waal
* Meta Wellmer
* Hugh Wirth
* William Youatt
* Thomas Young

Categories|

* Animal advocacy parties
* Animal killing
* Animal rights
* Animal welfare and rights legislation
* Animal welfare in sports
* Animal sacrifice
* Animal sanctuaries
* Animal testing
* Animal welfare and rights by country
* Cruelty to animals
* Dishes involving the consumption of live animals
* Ethically disputed business practices towards animals
* Fur trade
* Pain in animals
* People associated with animal welfare
* Vivisection
* Whaling

Religious
considerations|

* Dhabihah
* Jhatka
* Kutha
* Shechita
* Tza'ar ba'alei chayim

Rituals and
festivals|

* Blessing of animals
* Bous al carrer
* Cock throwing
* Combat de Reines
* Eid al-Adha
* Gadhimai festival
* Goat throwing
* Goose pulling
* International Primate Day
* Kapparot
* Dog Meat Festival
* Monkey Buffet Festival
* October Horse
* Pushkar Camel Fair
* Rapa das Bestas of Sabucedo
* Running of the bulls
* Surin Elephant Round-up
* Toro embolado
* World Animal Day

Legislation|

* Animal testing regulations
* Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (UK)
* Animal Welfare Act 1999 (NZ)
* Animal Welfare Act 2006 (UK)
* Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (US)
* Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 (UK)
* Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 (UK)
* EU Directive 2010/63/EU (EU)
* EU Directive 1999/74/EC (EU)
* Horse Protection Act of 1970 (US)
* Hunting Act 2004 (UK)
* List of international animal welfare conventions
* Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998 (Philippines)

Related|

* List of animal rights advocates
* List of animal sanctuaries

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Ethics

Normative|

* Consequentialism
* Deontology
* Care
* Particularism
* Pragmatic
* Role
* Suffering-focused
* Utilitarianism
* Virtue

Applied|

* Animal
* Artificial intelligence
* Bio
* Business
* Computer
* Discourse
* Economic
* Engineering
* Environmental
* Land
* Legal
* Machine
* Marketing
* Meat eating
* Media
* Medical
* Nursing
* Professional
* Programming
* Research
* Sexual
* Technology
* Terraforming
* Uncertain sentience
* Work

Meta|

* Absolutism
* Axiology
* Cognitivism
* Realism
* Naturalism
* Non-naturalism
* Subjectivism
* Ideal observer theory
* Divine command theory
* Constructivism
* Euthyphro dilemma
* Intuitionism
* Nihilism
* Non-cognitivism
* Emotivism
* Expressivism
* Quasi-realism
* Universal prescriptivism
* Rationalism
* Relativism
* Skepticism
* Universalism
* Value monism – Value pluralism

Schools|

* Buddhist
* Christian
* Protestant
* Confucian
* Epicurean
* Existentialist
* Feminist
* Islamic
* Jewish
* Kantian
* Rousseauian
* Stoic
* Tao

Concepts|

* Accountability
* Authority
* Autonomy
* Blame
* Common sense
* Compassion
* Conscience
* Consent
* Culture of life
* Desert
* Dignity
* Double standard
* Duty
* Equality
* Etiquette
* Eudaimonia
* Family values
* Fidelity
* Free will
* Good and evil
* Good
* Evil
* Problem of evil
* Greed
* Happiness
* Honour
* Ideal
* Immorality
* Importance
* Justice
* Liberty
* Loyalty
* Moral agency
* Moral courage
* Moral hierarchy
* Moral imperative
* Morality
* Norm
* Pacifism
* Political freedom
* Precept
* Punishment
* Rights
* Self-discipline
* Suffering
* Stewardship
* Sympathy
* Theodicy
* Torture
* Trust
* Utility
* Value
* Instrumental
* Intrinsic
* Japan
* Western
* Vice
* Virtue
* Vow
* Wrong

Ethicists|

* Confucius
* Mozi
* Socrates
* Plato
* Aristotle
* Diogenes
* Mencius
* Xunzi
* Cicero
* Augustine
* Valluvar
* Aquinas
* Spinoza
* Butler
* Hume
* Smith
* Kant
* Hegel
* Schopenhauer
* Bentham
* Mill
* Kierkegaard
* Sidgwick
* Nietzsche
* Moore
* Barth
* Tillich
* Bonhoeffer
* Foot
* Rawls
* Dewey
* Williams
* Mackie
* Anscombe
* Frankena
* MacIntyre
* Hare
* Singer
* Parfit
* Nagel
* Adams
* Taylor
* Azurmendi
* Korsgaard
* Nussbaum

Works|

* Nicomachean Ethics (c. 322 BC)
* Tirukkural (c. 450 CE)
* Ethics (Spinoza) (1677)
* Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel (1726)
* A Treatise of Human Nature (1740)
* The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)
* An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1780)
* Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785)
* Critique of Practical Reason (1788)
* Elements of the Philosophy of Right (1820)
* Either/Or (1843)
* Utilitarianism (1861)
* The Methods of Ethics (1874)
* On the Genealogy of Morality (1887)
* Principia Ethica (1903)
* A Theory of Justice (1971)
* Practical Ethics (1979)
* After Virtue (1981)
* Reasons and Persons (1984)

Related|

* Axiology
* Casuistry
* Descriptive ethics
* Ethics in religion
* Evolutionary ethics
* History of ethics
* Human rights
* Ideology
* Moral psychology
* Philosophy of law
* Political philosophy
* Population ethics
* Rehabilitation
* Secular ethics
* Social philosophy

* Category
* Outline
* Portal
* WikiProject

* v
* t
* e

Human interactions with insects

Aspects
of insects
in culture|

| In the arts|

* Insects in art
* Beetlewing
* Musca depicta
* Arthropods in film
* Insects in literature
* Insects in music
* List of insect-inspired songs
* Insects on stamps

|

In fishing|

* Fishing bait
* Fly fishing
* Artificial fly
* Fly tying

In medicine|

* Apitherapy
* Apitoxin
* Melittin
* Spanish fly
* Cantharidin

In mythology|

* Bees in mythology
* Cicadas in mythology
* Scarab (artifact)

Other aspects|

* Biomimicry
* Cockroach racing
* Cockroaches in popular culture
* Cricket fighting
* Entomological warfare
* Entomophagy
* Insect farming
* Flea circus
* Insects in ethics
* Insects in Japan
* Insects in religion
* Jingzhe

Economic
entomology|

* Beneficial insect
* Biological pest control
* Beekeeping
* Bee pollen
* List of crop plants pollinated by bees
* Beeswax
* Honey
* Propolis
* Royal jelly
* Carmine/Cochineal
* Polish
* Chitin
* Kermes
* Sericulture
* Silk
* Shellac
* Model organism
* Drosophila melanogaster

Harmful
insects|

* Insect bites and stings
* Insect sting allergy
* Bed bug
* Woodworm
* Home-stored product entomology
* Clothes moth

Pioneers|

* Jan Swammerdam
* Alfred Russel Wallace
* Jean-Henri Fabre
* Hans Zinsser (Rats, Lice and History)
* Lafcadio Hearn (Insect Literature)

Concerns|

* Bees and toxic chemicals
* Colony collapse disorder
* Decline in insect populations
* Habitat destruction
* List of endangered insects
* Pesticide
* Insecticide
* Neonicotinoid
* Pesticide toxicity to bees

Categories,
templates|

* Insects and humans
* Insecticides
* Pesticides

Insects portal
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*[e]: Edit this template