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Full-Text Articles in Philosophy
Autonomous Military Robotics: Risk, Ethics, And Design, Patrick Lin, George Bekey, Keith Abney
Autonomous Military Robotics: Risk, Ethics, And Design, Patrick Lin, George Bekey, Keith Abney
Philosophy
No abstract provided.
Untangling The Debate: The Ethics Of Human Enhancement, Patrick Lin, Fritz Allhoff
Untangling The Debate: The Ethics Of Human Enhancement, Patrick Lin, Fritz Allhoff
Philosophy
Human enhancement, in which nanotechnology is expected to play a major role, continues to be a highly contentious ethical debate, with experts on both sides calling it the single most important issue facing science and society in this brave, new century. This paper is a broad introduction to the symposium herein that explores a range of perspectives related to that debate. We will discuss what human enhancement is and its apparent contrast to therapy; and we will begin to tease apart the myriad intertwined issues that arise in the debate: (1) freedom & autonomy, (2) health & safety, (3) fairness …
Review Of Francione's Animals As Persons: Essays On The Abolition Of Animal Exploitation, Joan Schaffner
Review Of Francione's Animals As Persons: Essays On The Abolition Of Animal Exploitation, Joan Schaffner
Between the Species
No abstract provided.
Reasonable Humans And Animals: An Argument For Vegetarianism, Nathan Nobis
Reasonable Humans And Animals: An Argument For Vegetarianism, Nathan Nobis
Between the Species
No abstract provided.
The Ethical Disconnect Of The Circus: Humanity's Acceptance Of Performing Elephants - Author's Note Added 2 Feb 2011, Mike Jaynes
The Ethical Disconnect Of The Circus: Humanity's Acceptance Of Performing Elephants - Author's Note Added 2 Feb 2011, Mike Jaynes
Between the Species
No abstract provided.
Book Review Brian Luke's Brutal: Manhood And The Exploitation Of Animals, Laura Donnellan
Book Review Brian Luke's Brutal: Manhood And The Exploitation Of Animals, Laura Donnellan
Between the Species
No abstract provided.
The Pig Roast, Josephine Donovan
Genetically Engineering Human-Animal Chimeras And Lives Worth Living, Dennis R. Cooley
Genetically Engineering Human-Animal Chimeras And Lives Worth Living, Dennis R. Cooley
Between the Species
Genetic engineering often generates fear of out of control scientists creating Frankenstein creatures that will terrorize the general populace, especially in the cases of human-animal chimeras. While sometimes an accurate characterization of some researchers, this belief is often the result of repugnance for new technology rather than being rationally justified. To facilitate thoughtful discussion the moral issues raised by human-animal chimeras, ethicists and other stakeholders must develop a rational ethical framework before raw emotion has a chance of becoming the dominating justification for public opinion and policy. Derek Parfit’s work on lives worth living for human beings can provide valuable …
Animal Thoughts On Factory Farms: Michael Leahy, Language And Awareness Of Death, Rebekah Humphreys
Animal Thoughts On Factory Farms: Michael Leahy, Language And Awareness Of Death, Rebekah Humphreys
Between the Species
The idea that language is necessary for thought and emotion is a dominant one in philosophy. Animals have taken the brunt of this idea, since it is widely held that language is exclusively human. Michael Leahy (1991) makes a case against the moral standing of factory-farmed animals based on such ideas. His approach is Wittgensteinian: understanding is a thought process that requires language, which animals do not possess. But he goes further than this and argues that certain factory farming methods do not cause certain sufferings to the animals used, since animals lack full awareness of their circumstances. In particular …
Peter Singer’S Hegelianism: The Social Context Of Equality, David Rose
Peter Singer’S Hegelianism: The Social Context Of Equality, David Rose
Between the Species
No abstract provided.
The Intentionality Of Plover Cognitive States, Chuck Stieg
The Intentionality Of Plover Cognitive States, Chuck Stieg
Between the Species
This paper attempts to clarify and justify the attribution of mental states to animals by focusing on two different conceptions of intentionality: instrumentalist and realist. I use each of these general views to interpret and discuss the behavior and cognitive states of piping plovers in order to provide a substantive way to frame the question of animal minds. I argue that attributing mental states to plovers is warranted for instrumentalists insofar as it is warranted for similar human behavior. For realists about intentionality, the complexity, adaptability and flexibility of the plovers’ behavior, along with its ability to utilize the content …
The Social Contract, The Conservative Attitude, And Antibiotics Development, Eli Weber
The Social Contract, The Conservative Attitude, And Antibiotics Development, Eli Weber
Between the Species
The prevalence of antibiotic resistant microbes has led to a call for new antibiotics development. Due to the irresponsible practices of the medical community in prescribing antibiotics, much of the demand for new antibiotics is suspect. I argue that the social contract, which properly includes human relationships with laboratory animals, requires a conservative attitude toward new antibiotics development. This attitude places limits on the justificatory role of demand in determining whether a particular research project meets the conditions for morally justified research, as defined by Rollin’s utilitarian principle.
Against Unrestricted Human Enhancement, Patrick Lin, Fritz Allhoff
Against Unrestricted Human Enhancement, Patrick Lin, Fritz Allhoff
Philosophy
The defining debate in this new century will be about technology and human enhancement, according to many across the political spectrum. Our ability to use science to enhance our bodies and minds – as opposed to its application for therapeutic purposes – is one of the most personal and therefore passionate issues in an era where emerging technologies seduce us with new and fantastic possibilities for our future. But in the process, we are forced to rethink what it means to be human or, essentially, our own identity. For some, technology holds the promise of making us superhuman; for others, …
Language And Responsibility: The Possibilities And Problems Of Poetic Thinking For Environmental Philosophy, Eleanor D. Helms
Language And Responsibility: The Possibilities And Problems Of Poetic Thinking For Environmental Philosophy, Eleanor D. Helms
Philosophy
There is a sense in which poetry can re-inscribe humans in their natural surroundings, but language—even poetic language—is also always problematic. In conversation with and in response to recent works by David Abram, I will delineate at least two ways in which poetic language separates and distinguishes humans from nature. I also argue for the importance of what is implicit or invisible (as opposed to tangible and sensuous). Language is a mode of human responsibility for the world, not just a sign or result of being part of it.
Introduction: Nanotechnology, Society, And Ethics, Patrick Lin, Fritz Allhoff
Introduction: Nanotechnology, Society, And Ethics, Patrick Lin, Fritz Allhoff
Philosophy
No abstract provided.
Communicating With Accelerated Observers In Minkowski Spacetime, Francisco Flores
Communicating With Accelerated Observers In Minkowski Spacetime, Francisco Flores
Philosophy
Our goal here is to determine the spatial and temporal constraints on communication between two observers at least one of which moves with constant proper acceleration in two-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. We take as a simplified model of communication one observer bouncing a light signal off another observer. Our derivations use only elementary mathematics and spacetime diagrams, and hence are accessible to students taking their first course in special relativity. Furthermore, the qualitative features of our results can be easily explained to non-physics students in courses that discuss special relativity at a ‘conceptual’ level.