Customer Reviews

In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier (Blackwell Public Philosophy Series)

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Having always had a passion for the understanding and well-being of dolphins and marine mammals, it was without hesitation that I picked up Dr. White's book, __In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier__. The title alone piqued my interest, as it suggested content taking a different approach into the realm of dolphin research: should dolphins be considered as persons?

His book reflects his findings from many accredited scientists, philosophers and teachers, as well as his own invaluable first-hand experiences with these majestic "non-human animals." Not only is the book's content full of data, but there are several heart-warming stories that even as an avid dolphin lover, I never knew! Who knew that a dolphin could tell if a human female was pregnant? I didn't!

I highly suggest reading this book, as it is an eye-opener to understanding that we share this world with everyone and everything. Just because something or someone seems different, does not discount that they are equally (if not more) intelligent than another species. Human beings generally hold an anthropocentric outlook, and Dr. White's arguments are so very convincing, you will be left wondering if perhaps the dolphins are "smiling" because they know something we don't!

This is an exciting book from the start, filled with anecdotes and scientific researches (from physiological to behavioral study) suggesting that dolphins have a highly intelligent, but a different kind of mind from that of the human. The author considers the dolphin as "non-human person" and its mind as "alien intelligence" that need to be understood in light of the difference between the two species' evolutionary and environmental circumstances. Unfortunately, the final chapter on ethics, where the author appears to put the focus of the book (as the title of the book suggests), fails to enlighten in comparison to the rest of the book.

In the final chapter, the author explores the ethical issues of human-dolphin relation. He attempts to develop an ethic that extends to dolphins, considering the inherent difference between the human and dolphin intelligence, namely that dolphins are not an inferior species to mankind. He appears to propose that the ethic was thus far developed from the human point of view, and that with this new understanding of dolphins, we need to develop the ethic that could be equally agreed upon from the dolphins' point of view. I think in this aspect the author's arguments fail to be convincing. For, who is the author anyway? Is he a human or a dolphin? He is most certainly a human, with his human intelligence and human ethics. No matter how hard he tries to come up with an impartial inter-species ethic, his ethic is colored by his own intelligence and ethical principles; it is necessarily anthropocentric. As a matter of fact, the author's ethical view in treating dolphins is decisively that of human. (For example, he compares captive dolphins to human slaves.) Ironically, the discussion of the entire book preceding this chapter - that dolphin intelligence is different from that of human - suggests that dolphins may not agree on such ethics on human term, no matter how benevolent (in human way) they may be. Until the day we finally manage to talk with the dolphins (assuming we could understand them if dolphins could speak!) and learn their ethics from themselves, we have to rely solely on our own moral codes in order to interact with dolphins ethically. To settle the ethical questions between dolphins and humans in an equal term, we also need the defense of dolphins made by dolphins themselves, or so I, as a human, think.

A book that makes you think in a very challenging way. It is among the top of my "must read" list along with Jane Goodall "through a window".
Highly reccomended.

even if you love dolphins as much as I do. He makes a good case for them being non-human "beings"