The Ethics of Animal Experimentation

1. Background Information

2.1 What is animal testing?

An animal test is any scientific experiment or test in which a animal is forced to undergo something that is likely to cause them pain, suffering, distress or lasting damage. In animal experiments, animals would be injected or feed with probably harmful substances, exposed to radiation and forced to inhale toxic gases. Also, the lab resistant may surgically removing animals' organs or tissues to deliberately cause damage and subjecting animals to frightening situations to create anxiety and depression.

Only vertebrate animals such as mammal, birds and fish, and some invertebrates such as octopuses are defined as 'animals' by European legislation governing animal experiments regulations [1].

2.2 Current usage of animal testing

Animal testing is usually used for scientific and commercial testing. Animal are used to develop medical treatments, determine the toxicity of medications, check the safety of products destined for human use, and other biomedical, commercial and health care uses. It can help us understand our own bodies and how they work. Also, animals are used to see whether new chemicals have harmful effects, such as finding out whether a chemical causes cancer or illness to our body [2].

2. Utilitarianism

3.1 What is utilitarianism?

Utilitarianism states that one thing is ethical, or good when it develops the best quantity of good for the best variety of individuals. It is a theory of standardizing ethics that asks whether a specific action is good or bad, moral or immoral. They answer this question with an economic examination that focuses on human lives and says that those actions that build individuals happy and profit for them are good. As an example, a utilitarian could ask whether or not it's moral for politicians to pay billions of dollars on campaign advertisement. He or she would examine that money could have been better spent on something else [3].

3.2 What is the principle of utility?

The principle of utility states that the most ethical action is that the action that has pleasure or happiness for the most people[3]. Actions are right if they manufacture the greatest pleasure. Actions are wrong if they produce a lot of pain than pleasure to a lot of people.In utilitarianism,goodis outlined as the existence of pleasure and the absence of pain. This is can be calledutility. Hence, utility may be a philosophical theory. Recall that a hedonist believes that the great life consists exclusively within the pursuit and experience of enjoyment or happiness. The feelings of enjoyment and pain are biological events involving our central system, that controlled by our neural structure. We obviously experience pleasure after we perform certain acts that fulfill biological functions like eating, drinking, and having sex. We also experience pleasure after we perform certain intellectual activities, like reading a philosophy textbook, playing piano, or drawing a picture. However, but not forever, experience pleasure when we do the right thing. Conversely, we experience pain when these functions are left unrealized [4].

4. Deontology

4.1 What is deontology?

Deontology is that the branch ofethicsin which individuals outline what is morally right or wrong by the actions themselves, instead of pertaining to the results of these actions, or the character of the one who performs them. The word deontology comes from theGreek roots 'deon', which implies duty science. Thus, deontology is the ""science of duty.""

Deontological ethical systems are distinguished by a focus upon and strict adherence to independent moral rules or duties. To create the correct moral decisions, one must understand what those moral duties are and what correct rules exist to manage those duties. When the deontologist follows his or her duty, he or she is by definition behaving morally. Failure to follow one's duty makes one immoral [5].

4.2 What is principle of deontology?

Deontological ethical systems usually stress the explanations why bound actions are performed.Merelyfollowingthe rightethicalrulesis usuallynot sufficient; instead, oneshouldhavethe rightmotivationsalso. A deontologistisn'tthought-aboutimmoraleven supposingthey needbrokenan ethicalrule, as long as they wereimpelledto stickto some correctethicalduty. Nevertheless,an accuratemotivation aloneisn'ta justification foranactionin an exceedinglydeontologicalethicalsystem. Itcan't beused as a basis for describinganaction asvirtuouslycorrect.it's conjointlynot enoughto easilybelieve thatone thingis that thecorrect duty to follow [5].

5. What ethical issues brought by animal testing?

5.1 Animal right and autonomy

Animal testing damage the right and autonomy of animal. Animal rights shows that sure things are wrong as a matter of principle, that there are some things that it is virtuously wrong to try and do to animals. Human beings should not do those things, regardless of what the cost to humanity of not doing them. For examples, human use animals for scientific or commercial using, since the actions hurt animals, it can't be accepted. People should not do those things, although they are doing that in a very humane method [6].

5.2 Was animal testing violating the principle of utility?

If animal testing can help the scientists or companies to make safe product to human, animal testing was not violating the principle of utility. I have mentioned the principle of utility states that the most moral action is the action that provides pleasure or happiness for the most people[3]. Actions are right if they produce the greatest pleasure. Since animal testing is commonly used for test whether the products harm to the body, damage the normal body system or contain allergic factors. That brings a lot of benefits to human due to decrease the injury to human.

5.3 Was animal testing violating the principle of deontology?

Deontology asserts that the correct ethical action is supported on an objective duty or obligation [5]. Once you do your duty that you behave morally; once you fail to try and do your duty you behave amorally. Deontology asserts that you just ought to do your duty even though you or others suffer as a consequence. 'For King and country, right or wrong', may be a deontology dictum, and you'll equally say 'for animal liberation, right or wrong'[7].

There are two samples of acting deontological. A husbandman may hate shooting predators however accepts that he has an obligation to safeguard his oxen in spite of his action's impact on life. A scientist may keep an animal in pain as a result of he believes he includes a responsibility to search out a cure for illness. Instead, however, as your duty to animalkind you will possibly devote yourself to saving life from ranchers or might unleash laboratory animals utilized in experiments.

6. Conclusion

In conclusion, according to the two theories which are utilitarianism and deontology, we can see that the use of animal testing for scientific or commercial testing should be generally accepted by the society. Since animal testing can develop the best quantity of good for the best variety of individuals or communities. Under the principle of deontology, it has no definite answer to justify that animal testing is absolutely right or wrong. Since different people have their own responsibility to animals and purpose. However, it is still slanted to accept the use of animal testing. Generally speaking, there are still some ethical issue related to the use of animal testing for scientific or commercial testing should be generally accepted by the society not yet discussed in this short essay, further analyzation is needed to be discussed in other essay.

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