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Ethics is the systematic study of what are good and
bad actions
A crucial point of any scientific approach towards ethics is to have a
logical argument
which does not rely on opinions, taste or personal preferences. If one
adheres to a certain point of view, it is paramount that it can be
defended, is logically consistent and that the argument leading to it
should be understandable by anybody. We, the IAT, aim to adhere to this
scientific approach towards ethics, and it is of major importance to
us to make people aware of the need of this approach in a debate which is
otherwise very heated-up.
Animal ethics in particular is the systematic study of the
question of how we should behave towards non-human animals. We
therefore draw a clear distinction between animal ethics and animal
rights or animal protection as the latter already assume that animals
carry a certain moral status or even bear natural rights.
From a legal perspective, a question might be:
"How shall we treat the domestic use of mouse traps
according to the laws?"
From an ethical point of view, we ask:
"How should domestic use of mouse traps be dealt with
by the laws?"
From a theological perspective, we might ask:
"How shall we treat productive livestock according to
Buddhist, Islamic, Christian or Jewish teaching?"
In comparison, from an ethical point of view, we ask:
"What is the moral status of livestock and how are we
to treat it?"
Furthermore, animal ethics issues are to be
distinguished from scientific issues.
In animal ethics, we do not ask:
"Is it possible to test heart valves on pigs?"
Instead, we ask:
"Should we test heart valves on pigs?"
Nevertheless, legal, theological, and scientific (in particular
ethological and physiological) results
and observations from the social sciences and other disciplines play an
important role in discussing the moral status of animals -- not for
the validity of its arguments but in order to assess whether its
assumptions are true:
"Can fish, insects, ...
experience pain?"
"Is that particular incidence of animal testing scientifically
relevant?"
"What does it mean if we say that an animal is kept in appropriate
conditions?"
"What is the Jewish/Muslim point of view on the use of anaesthetics
in kosher/halal butchering?"
"Is it in agreement with the constitution to have mandatory
experiments on dead animals as part of the medicine degree at German
universities,
or is the freedom of conscience and animal protection to accorded a
higher weight?"
"What does the inclusion of animal protection as a national
objective in the German constitution
mean in legal practice?" or
"To which degree are vegetarians and vegans socially accepted?" |
With regard to the diverse and wide ranging consequences of
changing the social and academic
awareness of the moral status of animals, we believe that it is currently
of utmost importance to foster an open dialogue, interdisciplinary
cooperation, collaboration between academic and non-academic groups and
institutions and general awareness of and within the field of animal
ethics. Last, but not least, our main aim is to provide a forum
where it is possible to discuss a scientific approach of the relationship
between humans and animals.
If you you agree with the general ideas and beliefs outlined above or are
sympathetic of them, we cordially invite you to get in contact with
us. If you are an individual or a
representative of a corporate body or an institution, if you are a student
of the University of Heidelberg or a different university, if you are a
scientist or a teacher, if you are member of the clergy or are involve
with animal protection, animal rights or if you work in an area of
industry where animals are used, we would like to get in touch with you.
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