Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ClarissaMach]

Could you teachers please correcto this text?

Should the animals be used for scientific research? Is it humanly?

Should the animals be used for scientific research? Is it humanly? It is hard to answer these questions, for I myself am not convinced about my position over this polemic theme.

Part of me feels that we should not suffer animals to be submitted to painful experiments. There is a strong ideology that convinces us that animals are inferior beings and therefore can suffer in the name of �noble purposes� � that is, developing drugs and medical techniques that can save human lives.

This ideology somehow reminds me that which, in Brazil and other countries, justified slavery so far as the 19th century: that Black men did not have souls, that they were inferior beings and therefore could be deprived of their freedom and forced to work for their masters.

A similar way of thinking also allowed the holocaust in Europe � the Nazis believed themselves part of a superior �Aryan race�, that could imprison others such as Gypsies and Jews into forced labor camps.

Nonetheless, if confronted with the question �What if the life of someone you loved depended on a medicine whose conception had costed thousands of animal lives? Would you say no?�, my answer certainly would be �I would say yes, no matter how much guilty I felt after that�.

But does guilt change anything? Does guilt make this decision more respectful?

In the end, I feel I am not better than that elegant -- and hypocritical -- man who proudly says he is incapable of killing a chicken, but once it is over his plate smelling good, he is the first to grab it with his very hands.
_________________
Stormy Weather.

[pugachevV]

Should animals be used for scientific research? Is it humane?
It is hard to answer, for I am not certain about my own position on this controversial question.

Part of me feels that we should not allow animals to be submitted to painful experiments. There is a strong ideology that convinces us that animals are inferior beings and therefore can suffer in the name of �noble purposes� � that is, developing drugs and medical techniques that can save human lives.

This ideology somehow reminds me of that which, in Brazil and other countries, justified slavery until the 19th century: asserted that black men did not have souls, that they were inferior beings and therefore could be deprived of their freedom and forced to work for their masters.

A similar way of thinking also allowed the holocaust in Europe � the Nazis believed themselves part of a superior �Aryan race�, that could imprison others such as Gypsies and Jews into forced labor camps.

Nonetheless, if confronted with the question �What if the life of someone you loved depended on a medicine whose conception had cost thousands of animal lives? Would you say no?�, my answer certainly would be �I would say 'yes', no matter how much guilt I felt afterwards�.

But does guilt change anything? Does guilt make this decision more respectful?

In the end, I feel I am not better than that elegant -- and hypocritical -- man who proudly says he is incapable of killing a chicken, but once it is on his plate smelling good, he is the first to grab it.

It's a difficult question and given that the use of animals is condoned by several religions, it will be difficult to stop. However, I believe Australia, for one, has banned the use of the great apes for testing.

[ClarissaMach]

Thanks a lot, pugachevV.

Are you from Australia?
_________________
Stormy Weather.

[pugachevV]

You are welcome, Clarissa. I am in California for the moment, but I live in Canada.