PHLA10H3 Lecture Notes - Moral Agency, Intensive Animal Farming, Cuteness
Document Summary
Topic #3: the use of animals in biomedical research. The use of animals in research violates the rights of the animals themselves, specifically their right to not be subject to cruel and unusual punishment. It imposes unnecessary suffering amongst sentient creatures, in a situation which it is not necessary. His aim was to show that these views are incorrect. His first point was to prove that claims, or potential claims to rights were something which was common within a community of moral agents. However, this should primarily be restricted to those who are human, claims cohen: this is because one has rights as a moral agent; this comes from exercising and responding to moral claims, to lay down general morals. Animals can"t do this: though animals don"t have rights per say, we as humans do have moral obligation towards them to treat them properly in our dealings.