MORALITY IN ANIMALS?
Which ethicists care?
- Kant--in some passages he seems to say that our capacity for morality is part of what gives us inherent value; because they lack it, animals have no inherent value
- Singer, maybe--when he talks about the special value of human lives, morality might be a contributor
Which ethicists don't care?
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FRANS DE WAAL
- Our guide to animal minds. Who he is.
- US primate research centers -- Yerkes/Emory
- Are We Smart Enough to Understand How Smart Animals Are? (2016)
- As a primatologist, he uses a lot of examples involving primates
- Monkeys almost always have tails
- Apes don't have tails
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METHODOLOGY
Ch.1, "Magic Wells"
1. AVOID ANTHROPOMORPHISM
- Anthropomorphism is...(glossary) "The (mis)attribution of humanlike characteristics and experiences to other species."
- kissing apes vs. kissing fish
- laughing apes vs. laughing dolphins
- Should take into account evolutionary distance
2. AVOID ANTHROPODENIAL
- Anthropodenial is ..... "The a priori rejection of humanlike traits in other animals or animalilke traits in us." (p. 25)
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MORALITY IN ANIMALS?
Two theories
- Morality is something entirely new in humans, there's nothing like in in animals
- There are rudiments/precursors of morality in animals; human morality evolved from these precursors (this is DeWaal's view)
What are thes rudiments/precursors of morality in animals?
- Perspective taking (p. 129)
- Targeted helping--"Assistance based on an appreciation of the other's precise circumstances." (p. 133--p. 137)
- chimps will try to get humans to give them a banana outside their enclosure--will point if humans can see them--will make noise if humans can't see them
- Cooperation
- the cooperative pulling paradigm (p. 187)
- teamwork in other animals (p. 190-191)--whales, orcas, lions, wolves, wild dogs, Harris's hawks, capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees
- Empathy
- Reciprocity & Fairness