The Ethics of Animal Research: Exploring the Controversy

by Garrett, Jeremy R.

• ISBN13: 9780262516914
• ISBN10: 0262516918
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-03-01
• Publisher: MIT PRESS

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. ix
List of Contributors	p. xi
The Ethics of Animal Research: An Overview of the Debate	p. 1
Animal Research: Ethical and Scientific Starting Points	p. 17
Ethics and Animal Research	p. 19
The Evolutionary Basis for Animal Research	p. 31
Bringing Moral Theory to Bear on Animal Research	p. 51
Defending Animal Research: An International Perspective	p. 53
Animal Experimentation, Marginal Cases, and the Significance of Suffering	p. 67
Lives in the Balance: Utilitarianism and Animal Research	p. 81
Empty Cages: Animal Rights and Vivisection	p. 107
Virtue, Vice, and Vivisection	p. 125
Contractarianism, Animals, and Risk	p. 147
The Ethics of Animal Research in the New Era of Biotechnology	p. 167
Ethical Issues Concerning Transgenic Animals in Biomedical Research	p. 169
Casuistry and the Moral Continuum: Evaluating Animal Biotechnology	p. 181
Making Progress in the Debate: Alternative Paths Forward	p. 195
Debating the Value of Animal Research	p. 197
The Commonsense Case against Animal Experimentation	p. 215
Rational Engagement, Emotional Response, and the Prospects for Moral Progress in Animal Use "Debates"	p. 237
Animal Rights Advocacy and Modern Medicine: The Charge of Hypocrisy	p. 267
We're All Animals: A Feminist Treatment of the Moral Limits of Nonhuman Animal Research	p. 293
Index	p. 327
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