Saturday, April 30, 2016

Powerpoint on Animal Experimentation

I was recently asked to make an audio-narrated PowerPoint that reviews this article of mine, to be used in a UCSD course on non-animal-based medical research:

 2011 Oct;342(4):297-304. doi: 10.1097/MAJ.0b013e3182299421.

The harmful, nontherapeutic use of animals in research is morally wrong.

Abstract

It is argued that using animals in research is morally wrong when the research is nontherapeutic and harmful to the animals. This article discusses methods of moral reasoning and discusses how arguments on this and other bioethical issues might be defended and critiqued. A basic method of moral argument analysis is presented and used to show that common objections to the view that "animal research is morally wrong" fail: ie, common arguments for the view that "animal research is morally permissible" are demonstrably unsound or in need of defense. It is argued that the best explanations why harmful, nontherapeutic research on human beings is wrong, ie, what it is about humans that makes such experimentation wrong, apply to many animals as well. Thus, harmful and nontherapeutic animal experimentation is wrong for reasons similar to the reasons that harmful and nontherapeutic human experimentation is wrong.

PMID: 
21952174

DOI: 
10.1097/MAJ.0b013e3182299421

This PowerPoint with audio narration is available for download here




Information on this course is below the fold. 


Tuesday, April 26, 2016

One of my favorite books for teaching ..


 
By Peg Tittle
Published by Pearson Higher Education
Published Date: May 5, 2004

Description

What If. . . Collected Thought Experiments in Philosophy is a brief, inexpensive collection of over 100 classic and contemporary “thought experiments”, each with an accompanying commentary, that explore philosophical arguments and often address a genuine problem in life. The value of the book is in its simplicity in both format and tone: Each thought experiment is accompanied by commentary that explains importance of the experiment, and questions to provoke thought and discussion, all encapsulated within two pages. The book is direct, clear and conversational but does not dilute difficult ideas.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Honoring and Celebrating Tom and Nancy Regan

In 2016, the board of the Culture & Animals Foundation (CAF) invited activists, thinkers, and artists who’d been influenced by the work of the animal rights philosopher Tom Regan, and his wife and partner Nancy, to reflect on their legacy and that of the Culture & Animals Foundation. This video features Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation, the late philosopher R. G. Frey, philosopher Gary Comstock, author Kim Stallwood, and philosopher Nathan Nobis.