Philosophy & Ethics – Lecture 4 (16-05-2018): Introduction to Animal Ethics
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804):
- Autonomy
- Rationality
- Nature vs. culture
- Anthropocentrism considering humans and their existence as the most important and
central fact in the universe
‘’Animals have no rights, because they are part of culture’’
o But we have duties towards animals.
According to Kant there is an hierarchy in animals, with mammals and humans being on top of
the hierarchy. ‘higher’ animals can feel more pain; ‘if you can use a frog, don’t use a dog’
Anthropocentrism.
18th c. experimental method:
- Era of scientific revolution
- Manipulation: before you look at something, manipulate it (e.g. volume/heat, etc.)
- Technology (technoscience)
- Power (over nature) = knowledge
- Knowledge = power
Mary Shelley (author) – Frankenstein (1818):
Electricity = life, life = electricity
Luigi Galvani (1737-1798):
Electricity = life, life = electricity
Giovani Aldini (1762-1834):
Electricity = life, life = electricity
Albrecht von Haller (1707-1777):
- ‘’Animals are sensitive organisms, rather than machines’’.
Johannes Peter Müller (1801-1858):
- ‘’Use frogs rather than mammals’’
- Conflicts between methodological and ethical considerations (two sources of normativity)
- Anaesthetics (substance that makes you feel unable to feel pain – verdoving)
Claude Bernard (1813-1878):
- ‘’Scientists have an unconditional right, a duty even, to perform experiments on animals
for the benefit of future human patients’’
- ‘’Vivisection is inevitable if we want to transform medicine into an evidence-based
practice’’
- Experimentation by destruction on the organism observe the results
o Observation is the basic logic of experimentation = manipulation;knowledge =
power and power = knowledge.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804):
- Autonomy
- Rationality
- Nature vs. culture
- Anthropocentrism considering humans and their existence as the most important and
central fact in the universe
‘’Animals have no rights, because they are part of culture’’
o But we have duties towards animals.
According to Kant there is an hierarchy in animals, with mammals and humans being on top of
the hierarchy. ‘higher’ animals can feel more pain; ‘if you can use a frog, don’t use a dog’
Anthropocentrism.
18th c. experimental method:
- Era of scientific revolution
- Manipulation: before you look at something, manipulate it (e.g. volume/heat, etc.)
- Technology (technoscience)
- Power (over nature) = knowledge
- Knowledge = power
Mary Shelley (author) – Frankenstein (1818):
Electricity = life, life = electricity
Luigi Galvani (1737-1798):
Electricity = life, life = electricity
Giovani Aldini (1762-1834):
Electricity = life, life = electricity
Albrecht von Haller (1707-1777):
- ‘’Animals are sensitive organisms, rather than machines’’.
Johannes Peter Müller (1801-1858):
- ‘’Use frogs rather than mammals’’
- Conflicts between methodological and ethical considerations (two sources of normativity)
- Anaesthetics (substance that makes you feel unable to feel pain – verdoving)
Claude Bernard (1813-1878):
- ‘’Scientists have an unconditional right, a duty even, to perform experiments on animals
for the benefit of future human patients’’
- ‘’Vivisection is inevitable if we want to transform medicine into an evidence-based
practice’’
- Experimentation by destruction on the organism observe the results
o Observation is the basic logic of experimentation = manipulation;knowledge =
power and power = knowledge.
