Some men have found entertainment in pitting two dogs against each other. These unfortunate dogs are raised in poor conditions built on the foundation of violence. At a young age, they are taught to be aggressive towards their own species and attack one another. Both dogs in the fight are wounded severely and later treated poorly by their owners. Men are taking these dogs out of a state of nature to make them more aggressive. Observe this example in the state of nature: “Pit a bear or a wolf against a savage who is robust, agile, and courageous, as they all are, armed with stones and a hefty cudgel, and you will see that the danger will be at least equal on both sides, and that after several such experiences, ferocious beasts, which do not like to attack one another, will be quite reluctant to attack a man, having found him to be as ferocious as themselves” (49). In other words, two dogs would not want to attack each other after the first round, but are obliged to do so in these dog fighting rings. These fights often end in death all for the purpose of man’s greed and entertainment.
https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/dogfighting/closer-look-dogfighting
Ashley Hwang, you made a good point by stating how Rousseau believes that two animals/savages wouldn’t want to fight each other in the state of nature. He also states this when he mentions that “no animal would naturally attack man” (49, Rousseau) in the state of nature except in self defense, extreme hunger, etc. Expanding upon your good point, Rousseau also states how in every animal, he sees “nothing but an indigenous machine to which nature has given sense in order for it to renew its strength and to protect itself, to a certain point, from all that tends to destroy or disturb it.” (52, Rousseau). He states that not only do animals not want to fight each other in the state of nature, but also because nature itself has commanded them not to break out against each other until an extreme occurs.
You make a really good point about how dogs would never fight against one another other than being pitted against each other. I completely agree because what I have come to find is that animals typically are not aggressive against one another. Because these dogs are pitted against each other, they start to attain an aggressive and ferocious attitude. In order to survive, they must acquire this aggressive mindset. It is because of man’s selfishness and entertainment that these dogs suffer a sense of morality change. In a wider scale, this ruins the reputations of dogs too. Because certain breeds of dogs are pitted against each other, they gain a bad reputation for being scary and threatening.