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644Bovine Prospection, the Mesocorticolimbic Pathways, and Neuroethics: Is a Cow’s Future Like Ours?In L. Syd M. Johnson, Andrew Fenton & Adam Shriver (eds.), Neuroethics and Nonhuman Animals, Springer. pp. 73-97. 2020.What can neuroscience tell us, if anything, about the capacities of cows to think about the future? The question is important if having the right to a future requires the ability to think about one’s future. To think about one’s future involves the mental state of prospection, in which we direct our attention to things yet to come. I distinguish several kinds of prospection, identify the behavioral markers of future thinking, and survey what is known about the neuroanatomy of future-directed bov…Read more
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Concerning Cattle: Behavioral and Neuroscientific Evidence for Pain, Desire, and Self-ConsciousnessIn Anne Barnhill, Mark Budolfson & Tyler Doggett (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Food Ethics, Oxford University Press. 2018.
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100Bovine Prospection, the Mesocorticolimbic Pathways, and Neuroethics: Is a Cow’s Future Like Ours?In L. Syd M. Johnson, Andrew Fenton & Adam Shriver (eds.), Neuroethics and Nonhuman Animals, Springer. pp. 73-97. 2020.What can neuroscience tell us, if anything, about the capacities of cows to think about the future? The question is important if having the right to a future requires the ability to think about one’s future. To think about one’s future involves the mental state of prospection, in which we direct our attention to things yet to come. I distinguish several kinds of prospection, identify the behavioral markers of future thinking, and survey what is known about the neuroanatomy of future-directed bov…Read more
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439Ethics and Genetically Modified FoodsIn Gary Comstock (ed.), SCOPE Research Group, . 2001.In this chapter, Gary Comstock considers whether it is ethically justified to pursue genetically modified ( GM) crops and foods. He first considers intrinsic objections to GM crops that allege that the process of making GMOs is objectionable in itself. He argues that there is no justifiable basis for the objections- i.e. GM crops are not intrinsically ethically problematic. He then considers extrinsic objections to GM crops, including objections based on the precautionary principle, which focus …Read more
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Review of: Vexing Nature? On the Ethical Case Against Agricultural Biotechnology (review)Environmental Values 12 (3): 403-405. 2003.
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361Connecting Ethical Reasoning to Global Challenges through Analysis of ArgumentationJournal of Microbiology and Biology Education 24 (1). 2023.Scientific literacy is built on critical thinking. The postbaccalaureate workforce enhances our economies and societies by contributing a wealth of knowledge and skill sets to local communities, respective industries, and beyond as our world becomes increasingly interconnected. Education in scientific literacy should teach students how to learn about science and how to cultivate and communicate a positive attitude about science. Learners in a 200-level nonmajors biotechnology course engaged with…Read more
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380We argue on consequentialist grounds for the transfer of Sandai, an orangutan, to an orangutan sanctuary. First, we show that satisfying his interest in being transferred brings far greater value than the value achieved by keeping him confined. Second, we show that he has the capacities sufficient for personhood. Third, we show that all persons have a right to relative liberty insofar as they have interests they can exercise only under conditions of relative liberty. Fourth, we show that individ…Read more
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22Two Types of Narrative TheologyJournal of the American Academy of Religion 55 (4): 687-717. 1987.This paper argues that there are two camps in narrative theology, "pure" (e.g., Hans Frei) and "impure" (e.g., Paul Ricoeur) narrative theologians. Narrative theology, reflection on religious claims embedded in stories, is one of the most significant currents of late twentieth century thought. H. Richard Niebuhr initiated the conversation when he wrote in 1941 of "The Story of Our Lives." If his theme lay undeveloped for several decades, it burst onto the theological scene in the early 1970s. …Read more
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514Pain in Pleocyemata, but not in Dendrobranchiata?Animal Sentience 7. 2022.Crump et al.’s contribution to assessing whether decapods feel pain raises an important question: Is pain distributed unevenly across the order? The case for pain appears stronger in Pleocyemata than in Dendrobranchiata. Some studies report pain avoidance behaviors in Dendrobranchiata (Penaeidae) shrimp, but further studies are needed to determine whether the chemicals used are acting as analgesics to relieve pain, or as soporifics to reduce overall alertness. If the latter, the most farmed shri…Read more
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389Why the Court Should Free HappyInside Sources. 2022.Should the law recognize an elephant’s right to be released from solitary confinement? The New York State Court of Appeals—the highest court in the State of New York—will consider this question on May 18. At issue is an Asian elephant named Happy. But happy she is not. Every human being has a right to bodily liberty because they have strong interests that this right protects. Since Happy has the same strong interests, the Court should recognize Happy’s right to be freed from solitary confinemen…Read more
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450A Brief in Support of Happy’s AppealNonhuman Rights Project. 2022.We present ethical reasons that the court should grant the Nonhuman Rights Project’s (NhRP) request for habeas corpus relief for Happy, an elephant. Happy has a basic interest in not being confined, an interest that should be legally protected just as the human interest in not being confined is legally protected. Since the decision in The Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. v Breheny failed to weigh Happy’s interests properly, we ask this body to correct the error.
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11The Case Against bGHIn L. Comstock Gary (ed.), Vexing Nature?: On the Ethical Case Against Agricultural Biotechnology, Kluwer. pp. 13-33. 2000.Bovine growth hormone is a protein that occurs naturally in cattle. A chain of 190 amino acids, bGH is produced by the pituitary gland and helps to regulate a cow’s lactational cycle; generally speaking and up to a certain point, the more bGH a cow has, the more milk she gives. Using the techniques of genetic engineering, researchers at Monsanto Company have isolated the gene that produces the protein and devised low-cost techniques to manufacture it. Bacteria are placed into fermentation chambe…Read more
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Research with transgenic animals: obligations and issuesJournal of Biolaw and Business 2 (1): 51-55. 1998.
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5Problems for the Case Against Ag Biotech, Part II: Extrinsic ObjectionsIn , Springer Us. pp. 225-283. 2000.Thus the extrinsic argument against ag biotech. In considering whether it is a good argument, I believe we should simply assume that is true. Substantially risky technologies, perhaps by definition, should not be developed. Seeing no reason to contest, therefore, I will focus on.
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14Problems for the Case Against Ag Biotech, Part I: Intrinsic ObjectionsIn , Springer Us. pp. 175-224. 2000.I worked for many years constructing my version of the global case but, as I continued to try to strengthen it, I slowly began to lose confidence. My unease began with several personal experiences. One of our children had a common but annoying physical ailment, for which our pediatrician prescribed a very expensive nasal spray. When I inquired about its cost, the pharmacist informed me that it was a new, genetically engineered, product. The spray worked, and Karen and I never batted an eye.
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76Introduction: Might Morality Require Veganism?Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 71 (1): 1-6. 1994.
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11IntroductionIn L. Comstock Gary (ed.), Vexing Nature?: On the Ethical Case Against Agricultural Biotechnology, Kluwer. pp. 1-11. 2000.Agricultural biotechnology refers to a diverse set of industrial techniques used to produce genetically modified foods. Genetically modified foods are foods manipulated at the molecular level to enhance their value to farmers and consumers. This book is a collection of essays on the ethical dimensions of ag biotech. The essays were written over a dozen years, beginning in 1988.
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Ethics and Agricultural Biotechnology: Opposing ViewpointsJournal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 4 (2). 1991.
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11ConclusionIn L. Comstock Gary (ed.), Vexing Nature?: On the Ethical Case Against Agricultural Biotechnology, Kluwer. pp. 285-288. 2000.When social issues involve questions as momentous as global survival, ethicists should do more than analyze arguments and formulate principles. They should help us find stories to put our values into practice. In the essays collected here, I have tried to tell my story in the hope that others might find it instructive.
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19An extensionist environmental ethicIn N. Cooper & R. C. J. Carling (eds.), Ecologists and Ethical Judgements, Springer. pp. 43-53. 1996.Environmental ethics consists of a set of competing theories about whether human actions and attitudes to nature are morally right or wrong. Ecocentrists are holists whose theory locates the primary site of value in biological communities or ecosystems and who tend to regard actions interfering with the progress of an ecosystem toward its mature equilibrium state as prima facie wrong. I suggest that this form of ecocentrism may be built on a questionable scientific foundation, organismic ecology…Read more
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Agricultural EthicsIn Edward Craig (ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Genealogy to Iqbal, Routledge. 1996.
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19Against Transgenic AnimalsIn L. Comstock Gary (ed.), Vexing Nature?: On the Ethical Case Against Agricultural Biotechnology, Kluwer. pp. 95-138. 2000.When I wrote “The Case Against bGH” in the late 1980s, I enjoyed eating meat, enjoyed serving it to my family, and believed one could simultaneously defend traditional family farms and the welfare of animals. Shortly after finishing that article, I read again, and more carefully, Tom Regan’s The Case for Animal Rights. 2 Regan’s arguments challenged my presuppositions.
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11Against Herbicide ResistanceIn L. Comstock Gary (ed.), Vexing Nature?: On the Ethical Case Against Agricultural Biotechnology, Kluwer. pp. 35-93. 2000.I pulled weeds out of half-mile rows of soybeans on grandma and grandpa’s farm long before I heard of the controversy surrounding herbicide resistance and genetic engineering. Twenty years ago, Gordie, Richard, Greg, and I “walked beans,” not knowing that our fists and scythes were not the only means available to Grandpa for killing weeds. We knew little then about uprooting thistles with tractors and discs or about spraying chemicals onto mustard. We knew only that a cool thermos of lemonade an…Read more
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17Against Ag BiotechIn L. Comstock Gary (ed.), Vexing Nature?: On the Ethical Case Against Agricultural Biotechnology, Kluwer. pp. 139-173. 2000.When Francis Bacon declared his intent to torment and interfere with nature, he probably did not envision sickly experimental hogs with human genes. But the Baconian desire to understand nature and place “her” at our command has entrenched itself in our collective psyche, and the bioengineering epoch has enabled us to impose our desires in ways Bacon could not have imagined. In so doing, have we stepped over the bounds of decency?
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503The Philosophers' Brief in Support of Happy's AppealNew York State Appellate Court. 2021.We submit this brief in support of the Nonhuman Rights Project’s efforts to secure habeas corpus relief for the elephant named Happy. The Supreme Court, Bronx County, declined to grant habeas corpus relief and order Happy’s transfer to an elephant sanctuary, relying, in part, on previous decisions that denied habeas relief for the NhRP’s chimpanzee clients, Kiko and Tommy. Those decisions use incompatible conceptions of ‘person’ which, when properly understood, are either philosophically inadequ…Read more
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85The Philosophers’ Brief on Elephant PersonhoodNew York State Appellate Court. 2020.We submit this brief in support of the Nonhuman Rights Project’s efforts to secure habeas corpus relief for the elephant named Happy. We reject arbitrary distinctions that deny adequate protections to other animals who share with protected humans relevantly similar vulnerabilities to harms and relevantly similar interests in avoiding such harms. We strongly urge this Court, in keeping with the best philosophical standards of rational judgment and ethical standards of justice, to recognize that,…Read more
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17The Iowa State University Model Bioethics InstitutesBulletin of Science, Technology and Society 19 (4): 323-328. 1999.How should universities help their life science faculty members to integrate discussions of ethics into their courses? The Iowa State University Model Bio-ethics Institutes offer one model.
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62Review of Dale Jamieson, "Morality's Progress: Essays on Humans, Other Animals, and the Rest of Nature" (review)Philosophical Review 114 (3): 416-419. 2005.
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672What Do We Need to Know to Know that Animals are Conscious of What They Know?Animal Behavior and Cognition 6 (4): 289-308. 2019.In this paper I argue for the following six claims: 1) The problem is that some think metacognition and consciousness are dissociable. 2) The solution is not to revive associationist explanations; 3) …nor is the solution to identify metacognition with Carruthers’ gatekeeping mechanism. 4) The solution is to define conscious metacognition; 5) … devise an empirical test for it in humans; and 6) … apply it to animals.
University of Chicago
PhD, 1983
APA Eastern Division
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Value Theory |
Applied Ethics |
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Mind |
Persons |
Animal Rights |
Philosophy of Consciousness |
Human Nature |