The Ethics of Animal Research: Exploring the Controversy
A balanced, accessible discussion of whether and on what grounds animal research can be ethically justified.

An estimated 100 million nonhuman vertebrates worldwide—including primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, birds, rats, and mice—are bred, captured, or otherwise acquired every year for research purposes. Much of this research is seriously detrimental to the welfare of these animals, causing pain, distress, injury, or death. This book explores the ethical controversies that have arisen over animal research, examining closely the complex scientific, philosophical, moral, and legal issues involved.

Defenders of animal research face a twofold challenge: they must make a compelling case for the unique benefits offered by animal research; and they must provide a rationale for why these benefits justify treating animal subjects in ways that would be unacceptable for human subjects. This challenge is at the heart of the book. Some contributors argue that it can be met fairly easily; others argue that it can never be met; still others argue that it can sometimes be met, although not necessarily easily. Their essays consider how moral theory can be brought to bear on the practical ethical questions raised by animal research, examine the new challenges raised by the emerging possibilities of biotechnology, and consider how to achieve a more productive dialogue on this polarizing subject. The book's careful blending of theoretical and practical considerations and its balanced arguments make it valuable for instructors as well as for scholars and practitioners.

1110862703
The Ethics of Animal Research: Exploring the Controversy
A balanced, accessible discussion of whether and on what grounds animal research can be ethically justified.

An estimated 100 million nonhuman vertebrates worldwide—including primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, birds, rats, and mice—are bred, captured, or otherwise acquired every year for research purposes. Much of this research is seriously detrimental to the welfare of these animals, causing pain, distress, injury, or death. This book explores the ethical controversies that have arisen over animal research, examining closely the complex scientific, philosophical, moral, and legal issues involved.

Defenders of animal research face a twofold challenge: they must make a compelling case for the unique benefits offered by animal research; and they must provide a rationale for why these benefits justify treating animal subjects in ways that would be unacceptable for human subjects. This challenge is at the heart of the book. Some contributors argue that it can be met fairly easily; others argue that it can never be met; still others argue that it can sometimes be met, although not necessarily easily. Their essays consider how moral theory can be brought to bear on the practical ethical questions raised by animal research, examine the new challenges raised by the emerging possibilities of biotechnology, and consider how to achieve a more productive dialogue on this polarizing subject. The book's careful blending of theoretical and practical considerations and its balanced arguments make it valuable for instructors as well as for scholars and practitioners.

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The Ethics of Animal Research: Exploring the Controversy

The Ethics of Animal Research: Exploring the Controversy

by Jeremy R. Garrett (Editor)
The Ethics of Animal Research: Exploring the Controversy

The Ethics of Animal Research: Exploring the Controversy

by Jeremy R. Garrett (Editor)

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Overview

A balanced, accessible discussion of whether and on what grounds animal research can be ethically justified.

An estimated 100 million nonhuman vertebrates worldwide—including primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, birds, rats, and mice—are bred, captured, or otherwise acquired every year for research purposes. Much of this research is seriously detrimental to the welfare of these animals, causing pain, distress, injury, or death. This book explores the ethical controversies that have arisen over animal research, examining closely the complex scientific, philosophical, moral, and legal issues involved.

Defenders of animal research face a twofold challenge: they must make a compelling case for the unique benefits offered by animal research; and they must provide a rationale for why these benefits justify treating animal subjects in ways that would be unacceptable for human subjects. This challenge is at the heart of the book. Some contributors argue that it can be met fairly easily; others argue that it can never be met; still others argue that it can sometimes be met, although not necessarily easily. Their essays consider how moral theory can be brought to bear on the practical ethical questions raised by animal research, examine the new challenges raised by the emerging possibilities of biotechnology, and consider how to achieve a more productive dialogue on this polarizing subject. The book's careful blending of theoretical and practical considerations and its balanced arguments make it valuable for instructors as well as for scholars and practitioners.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780262300858
Publisher: MIT Press
Publication date: 03/30/2012
Series: Basic Bioethics
Sold by: Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format: eBook
Pages: 356
File size: 1 MB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Jeremy R. Garrett, is a Research Associate at the Children's Mercy Bioethics Center at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

Jeremy R. Garrett, is a Research Associate at the Children's Mercy Bioethics Center at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

Mark Rowlands is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Miami. He is the author of The Body in Mind: Understanding Cognitive Processes, Body Language: Representation in Action (MIT Press, 2006), The Philosopher and the Wolf, and other books.

Nathan Nobis, M.A., is a member of the Philosophy Departmentat the University of Rochester. He works primarily in analytical ethical theory, epistemology, and metaphysics. He has published articles in a wide range of scholarly journals.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword vii

Acknowledgments ix

List of Contributors xi

1 The Ethics of Animal Research: An Overview of the Debate Jeremy R. Garrett 1

I Animal Research: Ethical and Scientific Starting Points 17

2 Ethics and Animal Research Bernard E. Rollin 19

3 The Evolutionary Basis for Animal Research Stephen P. Schiffer 31

II Bringing Moral Theory to Bear on Animal Research 51

4 Defending Animal Research: An International Perspective Baruch A. Brody 53

5 Animal Experimentation, Marginal Cases, and the Significance of Suffering Alastair Norcross 67

6 Lives in the Balance: Utilitarianism and Animal Research Robert Bass 81

7 Empty Cages: Animal Rights and Vivisection Tom Regan 107

8 Virtue, Vice, and Vivisection Garret Merriam 125

9 Contractarianism, Animals, and Risk Mark Rowlands 147

III The Ethics of Animal Research in the New Era of Biotechnology 167

10 Ethical Issues Concerning Transgenic Animals in Biomedical Research David B. Resnik 169

11 Casuistry and the Moral Continuum: Evaluating Animal Biotechnology Autumn Fiester 181

IV Making Progress in the Debate: Alternative Paths Forward 195

12 Debating the Value of Animal Research Andrew Rowan 197

13 The Commonsense Case against Animal Experimentation Mylan Engel Jr. 215

14 Rational Engagement, Emotional Response, and the Prospects for Moral Progress in Animal Use "Debates" Nathan Nobis 237

15 Animal Rights Advocacy and Modern Medicine: The Charge of Hypocrisy Tom Regan 267

16 We're All Animals: A Feminist Treatment of the Moral Limits of Nonhuman Animal Research Christina M. Bellon 293

Index 327

What People are Saying About This

Peter Singer

Blending new voices with more familiar ones, The Ethics of Animal Research breathes new life into an old debate. Jeremy Garrett has shown that it is possible to move beyond polemics and have a productive exchange of ideas about the ethics of using animals in research.

Lori Gruen

This collection brings together a few older articles with mostly new ones. Readers are asked to grapple with the ethical as well as epistemological challenges posed by using other animals in distressful, usually painful, and often fatal scientific research. It offers insightful discussions that represent a range of views on this controversial subject and will be particularly valuable for students in the sciences as well as in philosophy courses.

Mark E. Cook

Current and future animal researchers need to know what leading philosophers and bioethicists are saying about animals used in research. The works collected in The Ethics of Animal Research provide insights for new discourse, classroom discussion, and intellectual pursuits. If the positions contained within do not spark balanced discussion, some freedoms may become extinct.

Kathie Jenni

This is a critically needed resource for students, professionals in science and ethics, and the general public. Jeremy Garrett provides an exceptionally helpful framing of the issues and a rich selection of new work that will expand and elevate the debate in heartening ways. By illuminating empirical, epistemological, and moral dimensions of the problem, developing alternatives to classical approaches, envisioning ideal practices, and suggesting ways to pursue them, the volume paves the way for vastly more meaningful dialogue: itself an important form of moral progress.

Endorsement

This collection brings together a few older articles with mostly new ones. Readers are asked to grapple with the ethical as well as epistemological challenges posed by using other animals in distressful, usually painful, and often fatal scientific research. It offers insightful discussions that represent a range of views on this controversial subject and will be particularly valuable for students in the sciences as well as in philosophy courses.

Lori Gruen, author of Ethics and Animals: An Introduction

From the Publisher

Blending new voices with more familiar ones, The Ethics of Animal Research breathes new life into an old debate. Jeremy Garrett has shown that it is possible to move beyond polemics and have a productive exchange of ideas about the ethics of using animals in research.

Peter Singer, Ira W. Decamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University

This is a critically needed resource for students, professionals in science and ethics, and the general public. Jeremy Garrett provides an exceptionally helpful framing of the issues and a rich selection of new work that will expand and elevate the debate in heartening ways. By illuminating empirical, epistemological, and moral dimensions of the problem, developing alternatives to classical approaches, envisioning ideal practices, and suggesting ways to pursue them, the volume paves the way for vastly more meaningful dialogue: itself an important form of moral progress.

Kathie Jenni, Professor of Philosophy and Director of Human-Animal Studies, University of Redlands

Current and future animal researchers need to know what leading philosophers and bioethicists are saying about animals used in research. The works collected inThe Ethics of Animal Research provide insights for new discourse, classroom discussion, and intellectual pursuits. If the positions contained within do not spark balanced discussion, some freedoms may become extinct.

Mark E. Cook, Professor of Animal Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison

This collection brings together a few older articles with mostly new ones. Readers are asked to grapple with the ethical as well as epistemological challenges posed by using other animals in distressful, usually painful, and often fatal scientific research. It offers insightful discussions that represent a range of views on this controversial subject and will be particularly valuable for students in the sciences as well as in philosophy courses.

Lori Gruen, author of Ethics and Animals: An Introduction

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