
Common sense has never doubted that animals can think, feel and suffer. For most of the 20th century, however, science has denied that we can know what animals are experiencing. Why has science taken this position? Can it be justified? What effect has it had on the treatment of animals? Bernard Rollin explains why and how scientists have been so cavalier about animal use, animal pain, and the moral questions they raise. He explores the damage caused by this position, both morally and scientifically; for it is not only the animals used in research which have suffered, but science itself, given that failure to take animal feelings into account has been shown to distort experimental results. In this book, the author traces the development of changing attitudes towards animals and shows how growing social concern about the way in which we treat them is forcing science to turn back to the common-sense view. The author's previous book "Animal Rights and Human Morality" won the Outstanding Book of the Year Award of the American Association of University Libraries.
This work investigates the historical and scientific justifications for denying animal consciousness and pain, arguing that such a stance is both morally indefensible and scientifically flawed. Bernard E. Rollin, a philosopher and bioethicist, examines the 20th-century scientific paradigm that treated animal experience as unknowable. He posits that this denial has caused significant harm to animals in research settings while simultaneously compromising the integrity of scientific data by ignoring the variables of animal suffering.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this text as a foundational contribution to the field of animal ethics and bioethics. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which effectively bridges the gap between philosophical theory and practical scientific application.
Page Count:
328
Publication Date:
1989-06-08
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192177656
ISBN-13:
9780192177650
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