Forcing choice between vivisection and cruelty frames the modern tragedy of animal nature

Evidence

And yet, clearly and unambiguously, the orgy of cruelty that took Zimbardo and his colleagues by surprise, stemmed from a vicious social arrangement, and not from the viciousness of the participants. Were the subjects of the experiment assigned to the opposite roles, the overall result would not be different. What mattered was the existence of a polarity, and not who was allocated to its respective sides. What did matter was that some people were given a total, exclusive and untempered power over some other people. If there is a sleeper in each of us, he may remain asleep forever if such a situation does not occur. And then we would never have heard of the sleeper’s existence. — Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust, 475 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Cruelty either unites humans with animals or defines their unique difference; Choice is the moment spirit passes into nature and morality is realized; Unchecked power over others, not participant nature, drives cruelty — Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust, 475 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Cruelty either unites humans with animals or defines their unique difference #expands (0.82)
• Choice is the moment spirit passes into nature and morality is realized #corroborates (0.75)
• Unchecked power over others, not participant nature, drives cruelty #qualifies (0.72) — Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust, 475