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PHILOSOPHY 445/545: ETHICS AND ANIMALS

Fall 2008

PROFESSOR: John Nolt

OFFICE PHONE: 974-7218

OFFICE: 818 McClung Tower

HOME PHONE: 573-4135

OFFICE HOURS: 9-9:30 TR, 9-11 Wed

E-MAIL: nolt@utk.edu

WEBSITE: web.utk.edu/~nolt

REQUIRED TEXTS

David DeGrazia, Taking Animals Seriously: Mental Life and Moral Status, Cambridge, 1996.

Tom Regan, The Case for Animal Rights, University of California Press, new edition, 2004.

Peter Singer, Animal Liberation, Harper Collins, new edition, 2002.

Additional readings listed in the course calendar below will be available on Blackboard (Online@UT).

ABOUT THE COURSE

This is an advanced course on (1) ethical theories regarding animals and (2) animal consciousness. It is open to both advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Assignments for graduate and undergraduate students will differ somewhat (see “Grades” section below).

GRADES

Grades for the course will be based on the following:

For undergraduates:

Three critical papers: 20% each

Term paper (3000 words): 40%

For graduate students:

Three critical papers: 15% each

Seminar presentation: 15 %

Term paper (6000 words): 40%

Critical papers should explain and critique a specific claim or argument by an author we have read. They should be about 3-4 pages (750-1000 words, double-spaced) long. To save paper, I encourage electronic submissions.

Term papers should provide a critical analysis of some central idea in a given area of animal ethics. That is, the paper should:

exhibit a detailed knowledge of all the writings we have covered in which this idea is discussed
argue for or against the idea
discuss objections to your argument
consider how opponents would reply to the objections
provide a summary and conclusion.

Graduate papers should, in addition to using the material we cover in class, be based on research into the broader animal ethics literature. For all students, the term paper is due on December 4.

Graduate students will, in addition, give seminar presentations on prominent papers in the literature on animal ethics and animal consciousness, to be chosen by the graduate student in consultation with me. A seminar presentation will typically consist of a 15-minute critical summary of the work to be discussed, followed by a brief class discussion.

ABOUT ME

I came to UT in 1978 after receiving my Ph.D. from Ohio State with a dissertation in logic and the philosophy of mathematics. I have since published three college textbooks and various articles on logic. After the birth of my daughter in 1985, I became engaged in environmental activism and around 1990 I began working in environmental philosophy. I have published various books and articles on environmental matters. The the most recent of my books, A Land Imperiled, was published in 2005 by the University of Tennessee Press. My interest in animal ethics stems primarily from my work in environmental ethics.

COURSE CALENDAR

Reading assignments in the calendar below should be completed by the date for which they are listed. Come prepared with questions to discuss in class.

Date	Topic	Assignment
8/21	Introduction	—
Part I: Ethics and Animals
a: Utilitarianism
8/26	The Principle of Equality	Singer, Prefaces and ch. 1
8/28	Animal Research, Factory Farms	Singer, ch. 2-3
9/2	Vegetarianism; Speciesism Today	Singer, chs. 4 and 6
b: Deontology
9/4	Animal Awareness	Regan, chs. 1-2
9/9	Animal Welfare; Ethical Theorizing	Regan, chs. 3-4
9/11	Indirect Duty Views	Regan, ch. 5
9/16	Direct Duty Views; Critique of Utilitarianism	Regan, ch. 6; Critical paper on Singer due
9/18	Justice and Equality	Regan, ch. 7
9/23	Animal Rights	Regan. chs. 8-9
9/25	Critiques of Regan	Warren “A Critique of Regan’s Animal Rights Theory”; Callicott “Review of The Case for Animal Rights”; Jamieson, “A Critique of Regan’s Theory of Rights”
9/30	Regan Replies to Critics	Regan, Preface to 2004 edition
c: Virtue Theory
10/2	Critiques of Vegetarianism; Virtue Theory	Schaeffer-Landau, “Vegetarianism, Causation and Ethical Theory,” and Davis, “Least Harm Principle”
d: Contractarianism
10/7	Contractarianism	Rowlands, “Contractarianism and Animal Rights”; Critical Paper on Regan due
10/9	No class; fall break
e: Pragmatic Pluralism
10/14	History and Justification of Animal Ethics	DeGrazia, chs. 1-2.
10/16	Moral Status of Animals	DeGrazia, ch. 3;
10/21	No class
Part II: Animal Consciousness
10/23	Animal Consciousness, Pro and Con	Hume, “Of the Reason of Animals” sec., 9 of the Inquiry, and Griffin, Animal Minds: Beyond Cognition to Consciousness, Preface and pp. 1-36
10/28	Philosophical and Scientific Significance of Animal Consciousness	Griffin, pp. 252-285
10/30	The Science of Animal Minds	DeGrazia, ch. 4
11/4	Animals’ Feelings	DeGrazia, ch. 5; Critical Paper on Second Generation Literature Due
11/6	Animals’ Desires and Beliefs	DeGrazia, ch. 6
11/11	Self-Awareness, Autonomy, etc. in Animals	DeGrazia, ch. 7, Gruen, “The Morals of Animal Minds”
11/13	Well-being across Species	DeGrazia, ch. 8
11/18	DeGrazia’s conclusions	DeGrazia, ch. 9
Seminar Presentations
11/20	Seminar presentations	TBD
11/25	Seminar presentations	TBD
11/27	No class; Thanksgiving
12/2	Seminar presentations	TBD
12/4	Last Class 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; Seminar presentations	TBD Term Papers Due

DISABILITIES: Students who have a disability that requires accommodation should make an appointment with the Office of Disability Services (974-6087) to discuss their specific needs and schedule an appointment with me during my office hours.