The History and Ethics of VivisectionThe History and Ethics of Vivisection

Rowan (1984)*Rowan (1984)*

“It is just not adequate for scientists to argue that there is a quantum difference between the moral status of humans and other animals if they are unable to give reasons for such a belief and defend their reasons in the arena of modern philosophical debate.”

* In “Of mice and men – a critical evaluation of Animal Research”

Cave painting from AltamiraCave painting from Altamira- drawn up to 15,000 years ago- drawn up to 15,000 years ago

Lascaux caves - Lascaux caves - drawn over drawn over

10,000years ago10,000years ago

Mural from Egyptian tombMural from Egyptian tomb - painted c. 4000 years ago - painted c. 4000 years ago

Galen of Pergamum (129-199)

- first record of vivisection?

Aristotle (c. 350 BC)- Man rational and therefore at head

Alcmaeon of Croton - C. 500 BC - brain, not heart the central organ of

sense, optic nerve function

Hippocrates - born in 460 BC. Observation and study of human body. Rational explanation for disease.

RomansRomans - up to 5000 animals a day slaughtered - up to 5000 animals a day slaughtered

in amphitheatresin amphitheatres

Virgil, Ovid, Cicero

- great compassion for animals

Plutarch, Seneca

- man has a duty of kindness to humans and animals

St. Francis - compassion for animals

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

- only humans are rational.

Animals exist for human needs and have no moral status /soul

1348 - Bubonic plague

Almost half of Europe’s population wiped out. Local, regional or pan- European outbreaks for next 200 years.

Hunts - mass extinctions

Animals for sport Bull baiting

Cock fighting

RenaissanceRenaissance - renewed interest in

Science and Philosophy

Witch trials - animals treated as rational beings -

tried and sentenced, especially when suspected of being mediums for witches.

Vatican - sparrows excommunicated

Rene Descartes (1596-Rene Descartes (1596-1650)1650)

Expanded on Christian humanist philosophy

- the soul distinguishes the human from all other animals

- 'beast machine'

- unoiled cogs of robots

William Harvey (1578-1657)

Demonstrated blood circulation using vivisection (C. 1620)

A significant increase in vivisection followed

Samuel Johnson in The Idler (c.1770)

"Among the inferior Professors of medical knowledge is a race of wretches, whose lives are varied only by varieties of cruelty; ............the truth is that by knives, fire and poison knowledge is not always sought and very seldom attained. .......and if knowledge of physiology has been somewhat increased, he surely buys knowledge dear who learns the use of the lacteals at the expense of his humanity."

O'Meara (1655)

"the miserable torture of vivisection surely places the body in an unnatural state".

Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke

Concern for welfare of their subjects but convinced that the costs were justified.

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

"The question is not - Can they reason? nor Can they talk ? but Can they suffer?"

Bentham (cont.)Bentham (cont.)

- All humans worthy of equal and humane consideration

- 'the day may come when the rest of animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them except by the hand of tyranny'

- 1790's - agitation for anti-cruelty laws. (butchers convicted after cutting off sheep's feet).

- 1822 - Martin's Act Offence to wantonly abuse, beat or ill-treat any animal the property of any other person or persons.

- 1835 - Joseph Pease - others property clause removed.

- public lectures and demonstrations

involving vivisection

Francois Magendie - 1820's

5 guiding principles - basis of 1876 CAA

Marshall Hall (1830s)

Five guiding principlesFive guiding principles

1. Is the experiment necessary ?

2. Does it have the possibility of achieving the desired result?

3. Can the protocol be modified to reduce discomfort?

4. Has the experiment been done before?

5. Will the protocol produce valid results?

1824 - SPCA founded by Richard Martin

1835 - Royal patronage

1840 - RSPCA

1850's - anaesthesia. - RSPCA object to vivisection

1874 - Victoria objects to vivisection1875 - Bill presented to Commons1876 – Cruelty to Animals Act

Frances Power-Cobbe (1822-1904)Frances Power-Cobbe (1822-1904)

Victoria Street Society for the Protection of Animals from Vivisection

Victoria Street Society for the Abolition of Vivisection after 1876 Act

1898 - Founded the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection

Tissue and organ transplantsTissue and organ transplants

Corneal transplants, 1800s. First human – 1906. First work on organ transplants, 1912. First kidney transplants, 1950s initially in dogs. Heart surgery, 1940s initially in dogs. Heart transplants, 1960s. Monkey to human

1964; human to human 1967. Initial bone marrow transplants in mice, 1970s. Replacement heart valves, 1970s.

Corneal transplants – early 1900sCorneal transplants – early 1900s

First successful transplants

Work on animals for many years

First human transplant in 1906

1920s1920sCanine distemper vaccine

Insulin for diabetics

1930s – 1940s1930s – 1940s

Broad spectrum antibiotics

Modern anaesthetics

Whooping cough and diphtheria vaccines

1940s1940s

Heart and lung machine for open heart surgery

Kidney transplantsKidney transplants

Work carried out initially in dogs

First human transplants in 1950s

Problems with rejection – many years of work with animals to understand and overcome.

1950s1950s

Polio vaccine

Hip replacement surgery

Drugs for high blood pressure

1960s1960s

Heart transplant operations – initially in dogs; monkey to human in 1964 and human to human in 1967.

1965 - Genetic basis of tissue typing from work on animals.

Rubella vaccine

1970s1970s

Improved treatment for asthma

Drugs for gastric ulcers

Replacement heart valvesReplacement heart valves

Replacement valve, usually from pigs, washed, denatured and tanned to render it biologically inert.

Developed after many years work in rabbits, Guinea pigs and rats.

Coronary bypass surgery

1980s1980s

Drugs to prevent transplant rejection

Drugs for viral diseases

Medical milestonesMedical milestones

1900sCorneal transplantsLocal anaesthetics

1920sInsulin for diabeticsCanine distemper vaccine

1930sModern anaestheticsDiphtheria vaccine

1940sBroad spectrum antibiotics for infectionsWhooping cough vaccineHeart lung machine for open heart surgery

Medical milestonesMedical milestones

1950sKidney transplantsCardiac pacemakersReplacement heart valvesPolio vaccineDrugs for high blood pressureHip replacement surgery

1960sGerman measles vaccineCoronary bypass operationsHeart transplantsDrugs to treat mental illness

Medical milestonesMedical milestones

1970sDrugs to treat ulcers, asthma and leukaemiaImproved sutures and other surgical techniques

1980sDrugs to control transplant rejectionCAT scanning for improved diagnosisLife support systems for premature babiesDrugs to treat viral diseases

Medical milestonesMedical milestones

1990s

Feline leukaemia vaccineMeningitis vaccineNew drugs for some cancersBetter drugs for depressionCombined drug therapy for HIV infection

 

Ethics Ethics

The philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct and of the rules and principles that ought to govern it

Moral philosophy

UTILITARIANISM UTILITARIANISM

Consequentialist theory

The right action is the one which brings about the best aggregate consequences

Total benefits outweigh total suffering

DEONTOLOGY (Rights view)DEONTOLOGY (Rights view)

Value of animals not reducible to their utility relative to the interests of others

Certain beings have certain moral rights

The use of animals in research (or farming) is wrong because it violates the moral rights of the animals used.

(1975) Animal Liberation - Peter Singer

Proposed that moral consideration should transcend the species boundary to include all sentient animals. Called for reasoned intellectual debate

Peter SingerPeter Singer

'If a being suffers, there can be no moral justification for refusing to take that suffering into consideration. No matter what the nature of the being, the principle of equality requires that its suffering be counted equally with the like suffering of any other being.'

Inherent value Inherent value - Tom Regan - Tom Regan

'Animals, it is true, lack many of the abilities humans possess. They can't read, do higher maths, build a bookcase or make baba ghanoush. Neither can many humans, and yet we don't (and shouldn't) say that they therefore have less inherent value, less of a right to be treated with respect, than do others.'

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)

Ethics must widen the circle from the narrowest limits of the family, first to include the clan, then the tribe, then the nation and finally all mankind.'

........'By reason of the quite universal idea of participation in a common nature, it is compelled to declare the unity of mankind with all created beings.'