Week 01: Research and Planning

I reference news, articles to understand the topic and history of experiments between humans and animals.

In the past, "Challenge experiments" raised significant ethical issues. However, it can help scientists to find treatment. A researcher from the Faculty of Medicine of The University Grenoble Alpes(2020) mentioned that this experiment stopped over 70 years. But, the United Kingdom was the first country to run a COVID-19 human challenge study in 2021.

In critical theory, animals rights advocate animals can enjoy "human beings" to protect animals. So, animals should be treated as humans. They are not human's tools that achieve human aims. Animals should be respected.

In addition, society still has people to hurt animals. I tried to research for some reason. First, animals cannot make judgments in the social contract. The social contract is a concept to explain the relationship between the personal and the government. Immanuel Kant thinks that animals do not have rights because they cannot enjoy rights mentally. He was an opponent of utilitarianism who advocated humans have no obligation to animals. And then, animals suffering bring benefits for humans. According to utilitarianism, its action can be moral such as animals experiment, urbanization, food, etc. Wild animals move to other habitats due to the urbanization development. It brings humans a good, advanced life. Food maintains human life. As a result, using animals as food or experiments get more benefit, making animals suffer is still morally.

However, Jeremy Bentham (1789) pointed out that "The question is not, Can they reason? Nor talk? But, Can they suffer? Why should the law refuse its protection to any sensitive being?". Since animals can feel happiness and pain, animals' encounters can be considered inhuman morality. Although using animals as food, experiments or development is still morally, it is immoral without considering animals' welfare. Humans inflict pain on animals unrestrainedly and wantonly.

Moreover, animals used in experiment subjects broke the boundaries between humans and animals. In "A Cyborg Manifesto," Donna Haraway took OncoMouse as an example. She pointed out that OncoMouse was born with a tumor through genetic modification. Since it sacrificed its life for medical technology, which was also a tool for humans to achieve purposes, it brings more benefits to humans. So, it has multiple identities. For other animals who are used in an experiment, they are the same as OncoMouse. Medical technology can transplant new organs to humans from animals. Humans achieve those techniques usually through animals. That represents animals, and humans were fusions. Donna thinks both are born from modernity and enlightenment's womb. The terms human and animals, nature, and society is overlap. Therefore, although technology and animals could not separate, I think humans and animals are the same objects.