The Human Use of Animals: Case Studies in Ethical Choice [Paperback]

F. Barbara Orlans (Author), Tom L. Beauchamp (Author), Rebecca Dresser (Author), David B. Morton (Author), John P. Gluck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 1998

The first set of case studies on animal use, this volume offers a thorough, up-to-date exploration of the moral issues related to animal welfare. Its main purpose is to examine how far it is ethically justifiable to harm animals in order to benefit mankind. An excellent introduction provides a framework for the cases and sets the background of philosophical and moral concepts underlying the subject.
Sixteen original, previously unpublished essays cover controversies associated with the human use of animals in a broad range of contexts, including biomedical, behavioral, and wildlife research, cosmetic safety testing, education, the food industry, commerce, and animal use as pets and in religious practices. Scientific research is accorded the closest scrutiny. The authors represent a wide range of expertise within their specialized areas of research--physiology, public policy, ethics, philosophy, law, veterinary science, and psychology. The careful analysis of each case makes it possible to elevate the discourse beyond over-simplified positions, and to demonstrate the complexity of the issues. The Human Use of Animals will be welcomed by students and faculty in law, philosophy, ethics, public policy, religion, medicine, and veterinary medicine. It will also interest activists in the animal protection movement, and members of animal protection organizations and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a stimulating collection of case studies that challenges the reader to consider a wide range of issues related to the value of animals, their rights and moral standing, factors affecting policy decisions, and so on.... Overall, the cases are current and of an intriguing variety, and the reader is frequently enticed to look more deeply into the ethical issues they raise....Perhaps the best testament to the engaging and provoking nature of this book is that I found myself frequently making argumentative margin notes. Readers allied with either side of the animal use debate will deepen their knowledge of the cases presented, broaden their appreciation for the subtleties of the represented issues, and expand their understanding of both their comrades' and adversaries' positions."--Ethics and Behavior

"...provides a lucid, well-researched and referenced account of ethical and policy considerations regarding our use of non-human animals. The cases are full of interesting historical and technical information and, in their ethical analysis, the authors have admirably succeeded in their aim to provide tools for informed and civil debate."--Medical Humanities Review

"...I warmly recommend this volume as a collection of very interesting and well-written case studies raising a variety of ethical questions concerning man's understanding and use of animals. These studies are well suited for teaching purposes- and not least, for courses concerning the use of animals for experimentation."--Animal Welfare

Noted in Laboratory Animals

"The is generally well written and edited, enormously informative, and very thorough in exploring the ways in which animals are harmed and alternatives to them. All will learn from it."--Religious Studies Review

"The book does have many strengths. Careful historical and scientific review of controversial issues bring to light information often lacking when animal advocates and animal exploiters address the same controversies....educators are likely to be impressed by the authorhship...who are highly regarded and broadly published in biomedical ethics."--Medical Research Modernization Committee Report

"I was most impressed with the short primer on reasoning through moral problems that is contained in the introductory chapter....This book will make you reflect on your own ethical outlook and does so in a surprisingly nonjudgemental fashion. If you are a member of your institutional animal care and use committee; are a member of faculties in basic science, law, medicine, veterinary medicine, philosophy, or ethics; or have a gerneral interest in the welfare of animals, then this easy-to-read book is certainly recommended."--The Physiologist

"This volume is an example of the best of multidisiplinary group action. The writing is simple, the description of cases clear, and the associated analyses rich and to the point....the book establishes a very high standard..."--Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

"...good questions are asked throughout the book..."--Science

"This book will be useful for students, faculty, and the general public who are unfamiliar with the ethical arguments about the human use of animals. The authors themselves have grappled with difficult questions, often not articulated by most people....the authors are to be commended for producing a book on this subject."--The Animals' Agenda

About the Author

F. Barbara Orlans, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Tom L. Beauchamp, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy and Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University.
Rebecca Dresser, J.D., holds a joint appointment as Professor in the School of Law and the Center for Biomedical Ethics at the School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
David B. Morton, B.V.Sc., Ph.D., M.R.C.V.S., is Professor of Biomedical Science and Biomedical Ethics at the University of Birmingham, England.
John P. Gluck, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195119088
• ISBN-13: 978-0195119084
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,707,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A SOUND ETHICAL TREATMENT OF THE ANIMAL DEBATE, March 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Human Use of Animals: Case Studies in Ethical Choice (Paperback)

Orlans et al have made a novel and invaluable contribution to the ethical debate concerning "The Human Use of Animals". As a biomedical researcher of fifteen years , I appreciated the frank objectivity that the authors brought to such morally complicated issues as animal experimentation, modern animal farming practices, and religious sacrifice. Each of the case studies presented invokes considerable soul searching and further challenges the reader to question whether we as humans are doing enough to meet our moral obligations to nonhuman animals. These moral obligations, highlighted in the various case studies, are not derived from any legalistic or heady philosophical meanderings but rather stem from an intrinsic sense of right and wrong. The case studies presented in this and hopefully future volumes of "The Human Use of Animals" should become required reading in biomedical ethics curricula.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read, September 17, 2011

By 

bman - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Human Use of Animals: Case Studies in Ethical Choice (Paperback)

The book is an interesting read. It covers the ethics of the cases pretty well but it is a bit biased as you would expect. Some of the arguments for their cases feels sloppily put together otherwise it is ok. It did have many cases that I had no knowledge of before.

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RIGHT ON!!!There's NO excuse for animal abuse!!!, April 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Human Use of Animals: Case Studies in Ethical Choice (Paperback)

This book was Great! everyone should read it