Table of Contents
Abstract
Animal testing is commonly used for scientific or commercial testing nowadays. However, there are many different views from different people，some may think that is good but some may think it is unacceptable. The use of animal testing results in some ethical issues that make it become a controversial issue.Within this essay, the principle of utilitarianism and deontology will be introduced. Also, we will show that how do the principle apply in animal testing. According to two different theories, different answers will be presented. Both theories show that animal testing uses for scientific or commercial testing is acceptable. It will then conclude that the use of animals to test the scientific or commercial should be accepted as this will bring more benefit to human and the community.
Introduction
The essay seeks to discuss whether the use of animals for scientific or commercial testing is acceptable. And under the rules of utilitarianism, animal testing is considered as a moral action which can brings the greatest happiness to the society, since it does not violate the principle of the utility. Besides, under the rules of deontology, animal testing is considered as an immoral action which destroy the moral values. In order to establish the argument, it start to introduce what is animal testing and its current usage. Utilitarianism and deontology will be introduced. It will then move on to the argument on what problems were resulted by animal testing and whether animal testing violate the principle of utility and deontology. At the end, it can be said that animal testing is considered as morally right.
Background Information
What is Animal Testing?
An animal test is any scientific experiment or test in which a animal is forced to undergo something that is likely to cause them pain, suffering, distress or lasting damage. In animal experiments, animals would be injected or feed with probably harmful substances, exposed to radiation and forced to inhale toxic gases. Also, the lab resistant may surgically removing animals’ organs or tissues to deliberately cause damage and subjecting animals to frightening situations to create anxiety and depression. Only vertebrate animals such as mammal, birds and fish, and some invertebrates such as octopuses are defined as ‘animals’ by European legislation governing animal experiments regulations.
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Current Usage of Animal Testing
Animal testing is usually used for scientific and commercial testing. Animal are used to develop medical treatments, determine the toxicity of medications, check the safety of products destined for human use, and other biomedical, commercial and health care uses. It can help us understand our own bodies and how they work. Also, animals are used to see whether new chemicals have harmful effects, such as finding out whether a chemical causes cancer or illness to our body.
Utilitarianism
What is Utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism states that one thing is ethical, or good when it develops the best quantity of good for the best variety of individuals. It is a theory of standardizing ethics that asks whether a specific action is good or bad, moral or immoral. They answer this question with an economic examination that focuses on human lives and says that those actions that build individuals happy and profit for them are good. As an example, a utilitarian could ask whether or not it’s moral for politicians to pay billions of dollars on campaign advertisement. He or she would examine that money could have been better spent on something else.
What is the Principle of Utility?
The principle of utility states that the most ethical action is that the action that has pleasure or happiness for the most people. Actions are right if they manufacture the greatest pleasure. Actions are wrong if they produce a lot of pain than pleasure to a lot of people. In utilitarianism, good is outlined as the existence of pleasure and the absence of pain. This is can be called utility. Hence, utility may be a philosophical theory. Recall that a hedonist believes that the great life consists exclusively within the pursuit and experience of enjoyment or happiness. The feelings of enjoyment and pain are biological events involving our central system, that controlled by our neural structure. We obviously experience pleasure after we perform certain acts that fulfill biological functions like eating, drinking, and having sex. We also experience pleasure after we perform certain intellectual activities, like reading a philosophy textbook, playing piano, or drawing a picture. However, but not forever, experience pleasure when we do the right thing. Conversely, we experience pain when these functions are left unrealized.
Deontology
What is deontology?
Deontology is that the branch of ethics in which individuals outline what is morally right or wrong by the actions themselves, instead of pertaining to the results of these actions, or the character of the one who performs them. The word deontology comes from the Greek roots ‘deon’, which implies duty science. Thus, deontology is the ‘science of duty.’
Deontological ethical systems are distinguished by a focus upon and strict adherence to independent moral rules or duties. To create the correct moral decisions, one must understand what those moral duties are and what correct rules exist to manage those duties. When the deontologist follows his or her duty, he or she is by definition behaving morally. Failure to follow one’s duty makes one immoral.
What is principle of deontology?
Deontological ethical systems usually stress the explanations why bound actions are performed. Merely following the right ethical rules is usually not sufficient; instead, one should have the right motivations also. A deontologist isn’t thought-about immoral even supposing they need broken an ethical rule, as long as they were impelled to stick to some correct ethical duty. Nevertheless, an accurate motivation alone isn’t a justification for Associate in Nursing action in an exceedingly deontological ethical system. It can’t be used as a basis for describing Associate in Nursing action as virtuously correct. it’s conjointly not enough to easily believe that one thing is that the correct duty to follow.
What ethical issues brought by animal testing?
Animal right and autonomy
Animal testing damage the right and autonomy of animal. Animal rights shows that sure things are wrong as a matter of principle, that there are some things that it is virtuously wrong to try and do to animals. Human beings should not do those things, regardless of what the cost to humanity of not doing them. For examples, human use animals for scientific or commercial using, since the actions hurt animals, it can’t be accepted. People should not do those things, although they are doing that in a very humane method.
Was animal testing violating the principle of utility?
If animal testing can help the scientists or companies to make safe product to human, animal testing was not violating the principle of utility. I have mentioned the principle of utility states that the most moral action is the action that provides pleasure or happiness for the most people. Actions are right if they produce the greatest pleasure. Since animal testing is commonly used for test whether the products harm to the body, damage the normal body system or contain allergic factors. That brings a lot of benefits to human due to decrease the injury to human.
