PHIL 1550 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Forego, Rodent, Speciesism
19 Apr 2016
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The case for the use of animals in biomedical research (cohen) Cohen notes that arguments against using animals in biomedical research are based on two grounds: it violates the rights of animals, it imposes suffering on sentient creatures. Argues that animals have no rights and humans would suffer more and to what it is a right (198) Cohen argues that a right is a (potential) claim that one party may exercise against another. A genuine right requires that we must be able to recognize who holds the right, against whom it is held, Rights, on cohen"s account can only be exercised by self-legislative morally autonomous beings. Those who hold rights must recognize conflicts between what is in their interest and what is just. Therefore, humans do not violate the rights of animals by conducting research on them. At best, humans owe some kind of obligation to the treatment of animals, similar to the way that adults.
