course description:What, if anything, is it like to be a cow? What, if anything, about the moral status of cows follows from what it is like to be a cow? What, if anything, about how we may treat cows follows from the moral status of cows? This course will provide a detailed, critical examination of such questions via a careful reading of some of the most important philosophical writings on the subject of our obligations to non-human animals.  The course will begin with some questions about the nature of (at least some) non-human animals: are they conscious? do they have thoughts? do they have interests? what, if anything, constitutes harm to an animal? From here, the course will look at the moral implications of the nature of such animals from the point of view of three moral theories, in each case focusing on a prominent proponent of the view in question from within the literature on ethics and animals: utilitarianism (Peter Singer), contractarianism (Peter Carruthers), and rights theory (Tom Regan). In each case, we will consider first the merits of the moral theory in general, then turn to the question of what the theory implies about the moral status of animals, and then consider what this, in turn, implies about particular forms of treatment of animals (e.g., raising them for food, hunting them for sport, experimenting on them for science). Time permitting, the course will conclude with a brief unit addressing these questions from the point of view of a few additional moral theories such as virtue ethics and evolutionary ethics.

required readings: Most required readings for the course come from Peter Carruthers, The Animals Issue; Tom Regan, The Case for Animal Rights; and Peter Singer, Practical Ethics, 2nd. ed.  These books are available at the University of Colorado Book Store located in the UMC.  The remaining required readings are available online via the links provided below.  Some additional optional readings will also be made available over the course of the term.  Some of these will also be available online.  The rest will be collected in a folder in the Morris Reading Room (Hellems 269).

course requirements: Final grades will be based primarily on a substantial term paper (approximately 20 pages), though class participation will also be taken into account (class participation includes conversations with me during office hours or correspondence via e-mail, as well as contributions to class discussion).  The paper is due on Thursday, December 9, and topics must be approved ahead of time.  Students who would prefer to write two shorter papers (10-12 pages each) may do so but must have their plans approved ahead of time.

Class Meetings (dates are approximate):

0. Introduction and Overview (Aug. 24)

1. Animals (Aug. 26-Sept. 23)

1.1 Consciousness (Aug. 26-Sept. 2)
        1.1.1 the cumulative argument (Aug. 26)
                Singer,  pp. 69-70
                Singer, "Do Animals Feel Pain?"
                Regan, secs. 1.7-1.11
        1.1.2 the Cartesian challenge (Aug. 31, Sept. 2)
                Carruthers, chap. 8 (see also pp. 137-39)
                Regan, secs. 1.0-1.6
                Rene Descartes, "Animals are Machines" (optional)
                Peter Harrison, "Do Animals Feel Pain?" (optional)
                "Which Animals Feel Pain?" (optional -- a useful chart summarizing the results of several studies)

1.2. Thought (Sept. 7, 9)
        1.2.1 simple thought (Sept. 7)
                Regan,  secs. 2.1-2.4
                Carruthers, pp. 122-33
                  optional readings:
                        Donald Davidson, "Thought and Talk"
                        Donald Davidson, "Rational Animals"
                        R. G. Frey, Interests and Rights, chaps. VII and VIII
                        David Beisecker, "Some More Thoughts About Thought and Talk: Davidson and Fellows on Animal Belief"
        1.2.2 complex thought (Sept. 9)
                Regan, sec. 2.5
                Carruthers,  pp. 133-45

1.3 Interests (Sept. 14, 21, 23)
        1.3.1 interests in general (Sept. 14)
                    R. G. Frey, Interests and Rights, chaps. VII and VIII (optional)
        1.3.2 interests in particular (Sept. 21, 23)
            1.3.2.1 avoiding pain (Sept. 21)
                    Robert Hanna, "What is it Like to be a Bat in Pain?"

            1.3.2.2 avoiding frustration (Sept. 21)
            1.3.2.3 avoiding confinement (Sept. 21)
                    Regan, secs. 3.0-3.4
            1.3.2.4 avoiding death (Sept. 23)
                    Ruth Cigman, "Death, Misfortune, and Species Inequality"
                    Regan, pp. 94-116
                    Carruthers, pp. 76-81
                    Singer, chaps. 4-5 (optional)

2. Ethics (Sept. 28)

2.1 how not to answer moral questions (Sept. 28)
            Singer,  pp. 1-8
            Regan,  pp. 122-26
            Carruthers, pp. 1-6, 13-20

2.2 how to answer moral questions (Sept. 28)
            Singer,  pp. 8-15
            Regan,  pp. 126-49
            Carruthers, pp. 6-12, 21-24

3. Ethics and Animals (Oct. 5-Dec. 9)

3.1 Utilitarianism (Oct. 5-21)
        3.1.1 utilitarianism as a moral theory (Oct. 5, 7)
                Singer, pp. 12-15, 89-95
                Regan, pp. 200-18
                Carruthers, pp. 25-35
        3.1.2 utilitarianism and the moral status of animals (Oct. 12, 14)
                Singer, chap. 2, pp. 55-62
                Singer, "All Animals Are Equal"
                Carruthers, pp. 50-62, 81-90
        3.1.3 utilitarianism and the treatment of animals (Oct. 19, 21)
                 Singer, pp. 62-68
                 Regan,  pp. 218-228
                 Carruthers, pp. 62-72

3.2 Contractarianism (Oct. 26-Nov. 11)
        3.2.1 contractarianism as a moral theory (Oct. 26, 28)
                Carruthers, pp. 35-48
                Singer, pp. 78-82
                Regan, pp. 150-174
        3.2.2 contractarianism and the moral status of animals (Nov. 2, 4)
                Carruthers, chap. 5
                Regan, pp. 174-93
        3.2.3 contractarianism and the treatment of animals (Nov. 9, 11)
                Carruthers, chap. 7

3.3 Rights (Nov. 16-Dec. 2)
        3.3.1 the theory of rights (Nov. 16)
                Regan, chap. 7
        3.3.2 rights and the moral status of animals (Nov. 18, 23)
                H. J. McCloskey, "Rights"
                Regan, chap. 8
        3.3.3 rights and the treatment of animals (Nov. 30, Dec. 2)
                Regan, secs. 6.4, 9.1-9.2, 9.4-9.5

3.4 other moral theories and animals (Dec. 7, 9)
        3.4.1 ethical egoism (Dec. 7)
                Regan, sec. 5.3
        3.4.2 virtue ethics (Dec. 7)
        3.4.3 evolutionary ethics (Dec. 9)
        3.4.4 feminist ethics (Dec. 9)

some related links

peta.org : People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
animalrights.net :  "debunking the animal rights movement"
Animal Welfare Council : "speaking out against animal rights"
Ethics Updates: The Moral Status of Animals : some useful bibliographies and further links