What is personhood?
certain rights to be treated as and considered a person
- What is Lappes Protein theory?
- T/F: the protein theory was meant to be ethical
- popularized health and ecologically-based vegetarianism in NA. Tried to give dietary advice with a strong moral tone to it regarding why people should go vegetarian
- F. it was not meant to be ethical, however telling people what they should do is ethical so it raised an ethical debate
- What are the 3 parts to Lappes protein theory?
- what is the conclusion of the theory
- there is a scarcity of food in the world
- animals are fed excessive protein in order to grow meat protein
- humans do not need animal protein to be healthy; we would actually be healthier if we ate the non-meat proteins we feed chickens
- eating animals is ultimately harmful to us and others and is ethically wrong
- how much meat per person per year is consumed?
- T/F: meat is less popular now than ever
- chicken consumption has increased by ____%
- beef has (increased or decreased) in the last 2 years by ____%
- 96.8 kgs, 213 pounds
- F. meat is more popular now than ever
- 84%
- decreased 24%
What are 3 ecological impacts of animal farming?
- overpopulation of cattle and methane expulsion is effecting the ozone –> methane effects the ozone because it increases global warming
- fecal run off into water supplies –> water pollution and contractible diseases through our water sources from animals (zoonotic)
- grazing lands for cattle causes permanent damage to the land where we can no longer grow
- T/F: organic status is always reliable. Why or why not
- T/F: organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventional foods
- F. not always reliable because contamination can still occur
- F. there is no evidence
what is the reasoning for inhumane conditions in factory farming?
due to efficiency of some methods, this leads to poor and unethical conditions for many animals. Ex: crowding animals = higher possibility for infection
- What are zoonotic diseases?
- What are some examples?
- What is bird flu?
- diseases transmitted from animals to humans.
- ex: SARS
- Bird flu = consuming feces of animals
What is xenotransplantation and it’s relation to zoonotic diseases?
xenotransplantation = growing human tissue from non-human hosts to make it easier for transplant. Raising animals to be organ donors. However, it could create zoonotic diseases that if you grow an organ for transplant in an animal and that animal has a disease and then you transplant the grown organ into a human, the human could contract the disease and die
- what is the difference between commercial vs. medical research uses of animals?
- T/F: commercial use of animals has been ethically more accepted than medical use
- commercial = for sale, food, clothing, testing products
medical = high value, cure for diseases so the outcome is good - F. commercial use is worse
- What did Peter Singer believe about personhood?
- what type of “ism” does this propose? Explain
- singer was a strict ____________ where he attempted to expand the membership of the greatest number to more than just humans but all __________ persons
- T/F: In singer’s theory, a person is solely human
- believed that personhood (ie. being considered a person) is for higher order mammals and excludes disabled or damaged mammals. Those who are not higher order should not be viewed as human or in the same respectable way
- specism = one who discriminates against another’s rights by virtue of their belonging to another (non-human) species. putting our own interests first and disregarding the interests of animals
- utilitarian, mammalian
- F. a person can be human or non-human if they meet the criteria
- What criteria does Singer suggest is a person?
- According to Singer’s criteria for a person, which of the following would be considered people?
a) a man suffers brain damage, cannot feel pain, speak, reason, make own decisions and is not aware of anything -and is essentially a vegetable.
b) a dog is running down the street and steps on a sharp stick, making a loud sound indicating pain.
c) a tuna fish makes a decision whether to go towards an area filled with sharks or swim a different way
d) a 2 week old baby
- feel pain
- make their own decisions
- foresee a future
- able to communicate
- ability to reason
- self-aware
- autonomous
- a) Not a person
b) a person
c) a person
d) not a person –> singer believes a humans don’t reach personhood until 3 months after birth
Explain for each topic below if Singer would approve of the action
1. abortion?
2. someone requiring euthanasia/assisted suicide?
3. xenotransplantation?
4. animal research?
- allowed. thinks humans don’t reach personhood until 3 months
- allowed. If humans slip below personhood status (vegetable state) they should not occupy resources that would otherwise be used for people. It is actually encouraged
- Not allowed. if an animal is considered a person, they should not have to sacrifice their interests for another person
- Not allowed. If an animal is considered a person they would be no different than a human research participant considered a person
What did Posner offer instead?
a synthesis between the 2 opposing views against or for Springer’s theory
said we should alleviate the pains of animals without reducing our standard of living (or the rest of the world) and without sacrificing medical or scientific progress - essentially that we should revise the way we use animals to alleviate their suffering but only until the point where we won’t have to sacrifice ourselves.
What are 3 the features common to all forms of discrimination?
- being comparatively treated worse than someone
- lacking justification
- involves less consideration and treatment
What is epistemic discrimination?
the idea that non human animals have cognitive capacities that are lower than they actually are out of a disregard for them
What is the best definition of speciesism?
it is the unjustified comparatively worse consideration or treatment of those who are:
1. not classified as belonging to a certain species
2. whose members are favoured
3. whose members are disregarded
What definition of speciesism would be used in each circumstance? (moderately narrow, radically narrow, descriptive)
- allows us to clearly single out the criteria on which the discrimination is based
- group together discriminations based on species membership and on criteria different from individual capacities
- used when speciesism is constructed as the object either of defense or the target of general criticism
- radically narrow –> because we don’t even know what the discrimination is based on
- moderately narrow –> know its about species but not about what type of species
- descriptive
identify the type of definitions below as moderately narrow, radically narrow, descriptive, best definition
1. Speciesism is the unjustified comparatively worse consideration or treatment of those who are not classified as belonging to a certain species (or group of species) whose members are favoured, or who are classified as belonging to a certain species (or group of species) whose members are disregarded.
- Discrimination against those who are not classified as belonging to a certain species (or group of species), or who are classified as belonging to a certain species (or group of species) whose members are disregarded, when carried out for reasons different from those individuals’ verifiable individual capacities.
- The comparatively worse consideration or treatment of those who are not classified as belonging to a certain species (or group of species)
4.Discrimination based on mere species membership
- best definition
- moderately narrow
- descriptive
- radically narrow
