Murray Bowen's Family Systems Theory

The concern of animal rights has been going on since the 1970’s. Animals are vulnerable creatures that are under human’s control. This allows individuals to have the ultimate power over any animal and until animal rights were put into action, animals had no voice to protect themselves from harm. The controversial subject of animal rights relates to the family systems theory. Murray Bowen generalized that the family needed to be looked at as whole, not as an individualistic approach (Anderson and Sabetelli, 1999). He also created a visual terminology for learners to understand that when something affects one person within the family, the entire family is affected. It is almost how a car functions. There are many parts that work together
There are working animals that help on farms, food producing animals, and loveable pets. No matter the way one looks at the situation, animals tie into the family systems theory by participating in the tasks humans utilize them for. There are so many groups and organizations such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) that have a voice for animals and lobby for their rights. They are the important components that trickle from Murray Bowen’s legacy of caring for animals. These people make sure animals are taken from abused homes and are provided shelter and food. In a way, these organizations interconnect with the family systems theory because they do one part and act as a voice while there are congressmen who vote on passing bills to chance animal rights and such. The Animal Welfare Act was made into a law and signed in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson. To this day, it is the only federal law that controls the treatment of animals in all capacities. There are other laws that regard to animal rights, but they all refer back to the Animal Welfare Act. It entails that minimum standards must be upheld for care and treatment for all