Exam 13: Animals

According to the Dependency Argument, humans have the right to treat farm and lab animals in any way that best suits their interests because

Singer argues that if killing, eating, and experimenting on animals is morally acceptable, then so is killing, eating, and experimenting on infants or the severely brain damaged. Assess this argument. Do you think Singer is right about this? What implications does your answer have for the ethics of meat-eating and animal experimentation?

Speciesism is the view that humans, by virtue of _______ are more morally important than nonhuman animals.

What do you think is the strongest argument for the conclusion that it is morally acceptable to kill and eat animals? Do you think this argument succeeds? Why or why not?

A traditional view dating back to Aristotle grants humans higher moral status than animals on the basis of

According to the text, the problem with the Power Argument is that it implies that we

Are there morally relevant features that all humans have but nonhuman animals lack? If so, what are they? What implications does your answer have for how we morally ought to treat animals? Defend your answers.

In Norcross's opening story, Fred tortures puppies because

Carruthers's argument is based on the assumption that _______ is the correct framework for moral theory.

According to Singer, there can be no justification for refusing to take _______ into account.

What is the Argument from Marginal Cases? How have defenders of meat-eating responded to this argument? Do you find their responses compelling? Explain and defend your answers.

Do you think humans are more morally important than nonhuman animals? Why or why not? Explain and discuss the implications of your answer for the ethics of meat-eating and lab experimentation.

According to Singer, the basic principle of equality is equality of

Who does Singer cite as incorporating the essential basis of moral equality into his or her system of ethics?

Talk about: -Subjective experience

On which of the following do utilitarians and abolitionists disagree?

Singer thinks it is _______ to find some relevant characteristic that distinguishes all humans from all members of other species.

Singer argues that any difference between humans and animals that justifies meat-eating and animal experimentation also justifies

Case Study Zoos have been criticized as morally problematic on the ground that they remove animals from their natural habitats and imprison them in an artificial environment for public display. Of course, zoos vary greatly in their quality and the quality of care they provide for the animals, but all zoos keep animals captive for the goal of human entertainment and education. Imagine that an animal advocacy group does extensive research on the effects of zoos and finds out that they are enormously beneficial in a number of ways. For example, the data suggest that they not only promote appreciation of wild animals among people who would not normally care about their welfare, but they also dramatically increase the amount of charitable giving to animal conservation organizations. -If the results of this hypothetical research were true, would it morally justify the existence of zoos? If yes, why? If not, is it possible for anything to justify the existence of zoos?

According to Hursthouse, which of the following actions is consistent with virtue ethics?