No it’s not. He’s pointing out an unspoken assumption that is incorrect. Namely, that a creature’s intelligence has any bearing on how they ought be treated.

No it’s not. He’s pointing out an unspoken assumption that is incorrect. Namely, that a creature’s intelligence has any bearing on how they ought be treated. It obviously doesn’t. The most intelligent animal of all is routinely enslaved, overworked, and discarded. Thus, the assumption is not as universally accepted as many posters suggest. Arguing about the relative intelligence of insects or cows or dogs or horses or whales with the end of concluding by that we ought or ought not eat them is silly. If it tastes good, people will eat it. Likewise, if someone is good at making iPhones or picking cotton, that’s what they’ll be forced to do regardless of their IQ.