Ethical Judgments on the Arts and the Natural Sciences

This book really leads me to consider some important and essential issues in scientific research. In my point of view, the first theme of the book is the morality and ethical issue. As we all know, under the today’s regulation and laws, the right

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” (Mahatma Gandhi). Scientists have been using animals for biomedical research for centuries. They provide a source to get information scientists can not get without harming humans. A lot of debate is spread about whether it is good or bad. Animal experimentation is a controversial topic because it is helpful to humans, but it is also cruel and inhumane.

(Martin Wasserman) Scientist do not feel that they are morally wrong because they make breakthroughs with the testing. On the opposite side you have people who believe that animals have feel pain. They feel it is morally wrong to subject these creatures to this type of torture. (Opponents)

Every day we are faced with certain situations that challenge us with how to act in an ethical manner. It can be human nature to feel unsure or conflicted with the correct moral choice. Some can say that one should know how to handle such dilemmas and others may say that there should be a reference of some sort to help guide through such conflicts. Sometimes we know the answers and sometimes we are unsure of how to handle certain situations. Most times we go through life wondering what we should do. As I become further educated on the different theories of ethics, I believe there are answers that are available in guiding one through an ethical dilemma and or judgment. I will discuss Vincent Ruggiero’s three basic criteria, Robert Kegan’s order of consciousness, the three schools of ethics and the correlation between all three.

Cohen argues that humans may morally use animals for biomedical research, the study of biological processes and disease, because animals lack rights. He defines rights as moral claims that one human can hold against another, which are bound in both law as well as in comprehension of right and wrong. As animals lack self-conscious placement in a higher ethical order with the ability to weigh needs of self against the needs of others, they therefore lack the ability to have rights. (Cohen 1986: p. 215) To support the morality of animal research, I will show how it has led to many successful treatments of disease in humans, due to the common physiology that we share with other animals. Furthermore, I will argue that the pain caused on research

<br>However, this exploration from two perspectives violates the term ethical as it should be "a universal

Animal testing is an experimentation performed on animals. Scientists test on animals to assess the how safe and effective a product for humans is, this can be anything from medication, pesticides, industrial chemicals, food additives, household products, supplements, and cosmetics. Animal testing is morally wrong as it involves the torturing of innocent animals. “Right now, millions of mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats, dogs, and other animals are locked inside cold, barren cages in laboratories across the country. They languish in pain, ache with loneliness, and long to roam free and use their minds. Instead, all they can do is sit and wait in fear of the next terrifying and painful

Regan states that the use of animals in research assumes that their value is reducible to their possible utility relative to the interests of others. Regan states that it is wrong for us to use animals to be eaten, exploited for money or sport, or surgically manipulated. Regan has a Kantian view of how we should treat animals in research and in general. The possible utility of animals approach shows that people believe that we have no duties directly to animals, that we owe nothing to them, that we can do nothing that wrongs them. One problem with this view is that it is anthropocentric and does not take account of the possible sufferings of other species. Animals are subject to painful and inhumane treatment during biomedical research and testing, they have entered into a contract that they have not given contest to. The violation of animals’ rights means that decisions are made for them, and usually do not benefit them. It is wrong for humans to decide what should be done with animals.

Our neurobiology (emotions) hold a great degree of power over the way that we make decisions in what we wish to pursue. Studies show the extent to which we use emotion in everyday decisions, whether in the ways we communicate with others to the ways in which w learn. Ethics and philosophical standings also have power over the knowledge we pursue for we must question the extent to which what we are researching is moral and its worth. Milgram's shock study and Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment are important ethical studies that show that it is important to look into our moral values before conducting research as without doing so will result in consequences that we will regret in the future. Our pursuit of knowledge is thus very heavily influenced by our emotions and ethical values. Though initially appearing to be simple, this question challenges us to examine areas of knowledge we previously would not have considered and thus allowing us to expand our knowledge of the factors that influence our journey for

“ethics can be seen instead as the suspension of humans’ epistemological and hence domineering pretensions. This is not to say that we humans have to remain ignorant; it is just to suggest caution in getting to know things all too quickly and then constantly producing and reproducing behaviour and action, or ethics and politics, on the basis of this knowledge.” (Zylinska, 2014, p94).

Using knowledge in another example, the higher level of knowledge one reaches, the higher one’s ethical

For centuries mankind has experimented on animals for a number of different reasons. Early experimentation with animals was originally born out of curiosity but eventually became a necessity to find medicines to cure viruses and a myriad of illnesses. If not for the existence of animals, humans would be left to experiment on themselves at a high rate which would create a worldwide moral dilemma. Such a dilemma could be dictated based on the question of who should be chosen for experimentation; should it be a particular race or class of people?

There are a variety of different ethical systems that have developed of the course of millennia. However, even though the subject has been covered so thoroughly, it is still heavily debated. The varieties of ethical systems that are in existence look at various ethical problems from different perspectives and can be applied differently in different circumstances. Because of the subjective aspects to applying ethics, they can be as much an art as they are a science. Ethics are something that must be practiced and really cannot be perfected. In this way, studying ethics is a continual process that does not really stop. This paper will argue that ethics are the most important subject that an individual can pursue.

For the past 20 years, there has a been an on going heated debate on whether experiments on animals for the benefit of medical and scientific research is ethical. Whether it is or isn't, most people believe that some form of cost-benefit test should be performed to determine if the action is right. The costs include: animal pain, distress and death where the benefits include the collection of new knowledge or the development of new medical therapies for humans. Looking into these different aspects of the experimentation, there is a large gap for argument between the different scientists' views. In the next few paragraphs, both sides of the argument will be expressed by the supporters.

Our conclusions on any occasion are direct consequences of any developed concept in our minds. We see the world as we want to see it through our personal perceptions. When we are categorizing anything as desirable or otherwise, we judge using the concepts that we hold to us. Although different concepts may shape different conclusions, they are all influenced by beliefs and experiences. So, to what extent do our beliefs modify the conclusions that we may reach? The knowledge obtained through out someone’s life through their experiences, or belief system direct decision making almost completely. In my essay I will explore how Ethics and Human sciences correlate with this topic. I will also implement and tie in the connections of Reason and link these concepts with belief and experiences.