Androids, Aliens, Animals and Others: A Measure of Morality

Differentiated Citizenship and the Principle of Equal Consideration for Non-human Animals

Sunday, June 8, 2014

The Amazing Story of Esther the Wonder Pig


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M.A. Thesis Blog by Laura Kamienski,

Revised Statement of Purpose - June 28, 2014

In an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation (SNG), entitled “The Measure of a Man,” a legal hearing is held to determine the status of one of the main characters; an android named Data. The dispute is over whether Data is to be considered an autonomous being or the property of Starfleet.

The episode highlights a puzzle that continues to perplex cognitive scientists, ethologists, legal professionals, and philosophers alike. Can a nonhuman entity such as Data be intelligent, self-aware, and or conscious? The answer to this question has many ethical implications. For example, suppose we encounter a group of silicone based aliens who act exactly as humans do. Do we assume that because they are not made of organic material that they are not sentient? If so, what would this mean in terms of their moral status on earth?

While considering beings who don’t yet exist is important, it is perhaps more important to pay particular attention to the ramifications of this question for the nonhuman beings we already share the planet with. That is, what about beings who are made of organic “stuff,” but who are significantly different from humans in some other way? Those interested in defending and advancing the moral status of animals have an enormous stake in the question of sentience.

My thesis will explore the possibility of sentience (and by default intelligence) in both artificial life, alien species, and nonhuman animals, while paying special attention to ethical considerations posed by the difficulties of gaining access to subjective experience.

My main argument will focus on what's known as the precautionary principle, which suggests that in the absence of conclusive evidence, it is better to be safe than sorry. I think that by adopting the precautionary principle with regard to the question of consciousness, we are in a better position to make non-discriminatory judgments about artificial intelligence, aliens and nonhuman animals. I am convinced that the importance placed on the question of sentience is fundamentally linked with anthropocentric chauvinism. That is to say that the current standards used to judge the moral status of nonhuman creatures is tendentiously based on their similarity, or dissimilarity, to humans. I believe that what is normally thought of as intuition regarding nonhuman life is not intuition at all, but a socially realized cultural bias.

Laura Kamienski

Blog Archive

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    • ▼  June (1)
      • The Amazing Story of Esther the Wonder Pig
    • ►  April (1)
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  • ►  2013 (39)
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My Thesis Bookshelf

Laura's bookshelf: read

Governing Animals: Animal Welfare and the Liberal State
1 of 5 stars
Governing Animals: Animal Welfare and the Liberal State
by Kimberly K Smith
tagged: thesis-books
The Empathic Civilization: The Race To Global Consciousness In A World In Crisis
5 of 5 stars
The Empathic Civilization: The Race To Global Consciousness In A World In Crisis
by Jeremy Rifkin
tagged: thesis-books
Perception, Empathy, Judgment- CL.
5 of 5 stars
Perception, Empathy, Judgment- CL.
by Arne Johan Vetlesen
tagged: thesis-books
Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals
5 of 5 stars
Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals
by Gary Francione
tagged: thesis-books
Brutal: Manhood and the Exploitation of Animals
5 of 5 stars
Brutal: Manhood and the Exploitation of Animals
by Brian Luke
Luke effectively argues that the historical elevation or rationality over emotion has led to the underlying dichotomies of all oppression. He is not calling for eliminating rationality, but explores why emotion is mistakenly discounted a...
tagged: thesis-books
Animals Like Us
5 of 5 stars
Animals Like Us
by Mark Rowlands
tagged: thesis-books
Animals and Why They Matter
4 of 5 stars
Animals and Why They Matter
by Mary Midgley
tagged: thesis-books
Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions
4 of 5 stars
Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions
by Cass R. Sunstein
tagged: thesis-books
Drawing The Line: Science And The Case For Animal Rights
4 of 5 stars
Drawing The Line: Science And The Case For Animal Rights
by Steven M. Wise
tagged: thesis-books
Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents: The Moral Status of Animals in the History of Western Philosophy
5 of 5 stars
Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents: The Moral Status of Animals in the History of Western Philosophy
by Gary Steiner
tagged: thesis-books
Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights
5 of 5 stars
Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights
by Sue Donaldson
tagged: thesis-books
Animals and the Limits of Postmodernism
5 of 5 stars
Animals and the Limits of Postmodernism
by Gary Steiner
tagged: thesis-books
Eternal Treblinka
5 of 5 stars
Eternal Treblinka
by Charles Patterson
tagged: thesis-books
Animals Property & The Law
5 of 5 stars
Animals Property & The Law
by Gary L. Francione
tagged: thesis-books
Without a Tear: OUR TRAGIC RELATIONSHIP WITH ANIMALS
5 of 5 stars
Without a Tear: OUR TRAGIC RELATIONSHIP WITH ANIMALS
by Mark H. Bernstein
tagged: thesis-books
Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents: The Moral Status of Animals in the History of Western Philosophy
5 of 5 stars
Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents: The Moral Status of Animals in the History of Western Philosophy
by Gary Steiner
tagged: thesis-books
Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions
4 of 5 stars
Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions
by Martha C. Nussbaum, Cass Sustein
tagged: thesis-books
The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?
5 of 5 stars
The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?
by Hope Bohanec
tagged: thesis-books
Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations
5 of 5 stars
Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations
by Carol J. Adams
tagged: thesis-books
The Animals Issue: Moral Theory in Practice
1 of 5 stars
The Animals Issue: Moral Theory in Practice
by Peter Carruthers
tagged: thesis-books
In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development
5 of 5 stars
In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development
by Carol Gilligan
tagged: thesis-books
The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation?
5 of 5 stars
The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation?
by Gary L. Francione
tagged: thesis-books
Making A Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights
5 of 5 stars
Making A Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights
by Bob Torres
tagged: thesis-books
Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?
5 of 5 stars
Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?
by Gary L. Francione
tagged: thesis-books
Animal Minds: Beyond Cognition to Consciousness
4 of 5 stars
Animal Minds: Beyond Cognition to Consciousness
by Donald R. Griffin
tagged: thesis-books
The Case for Animal Rights
2 of 5 stars
The Case for Animal Rights
by Tom Regan
tagged: thesis-books
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism: The Belief System That Enables Us to Eat Some Animals and Not Others
5 of 5 stars
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism: The Belief System That Enables Us to Eat Some Animals and Not Others
by Melanie Joy
tagged: thesis-books
Animals and the Moral Community: Mental Life, Moral Status, and Kinship
5 of 5 stars
Animals and the Moral Community: Mental Life, Moral Status, and Kinship
by Gary Steiner
tagged: thesis-books
The Feminist Care Tradition in Animal Ethics: A Reader
5 of 5 stars
The Feminist Care Tradition in Animal Ethics: A Reader
by Josephine Donovan
tagged: thesis-books
Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement
5 of 5 stars
Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement
by Gary L. Francione
tagged: thesis-books

goodreads.com
  • 10 WIdely Debated Animal Issues
  • 5 Reasons Why Eating Animals Can NOT Be Considered a Personal Choice
  • 6 Common Objections to Committing to a Vegan Diet
  • Animal Farm by George Orwell - Free Audio Book
  • Animal Rights:The Abolitionist Approach
  • Between the Species: An Online Journal for the Study of Philosophy and Animals
  • Can I Get Enough Nutrients From a Vegan Diet?
  • Carl Lewis: His Best Athletic Perforamance Came After Eliminating All Animal Products From His Diet
  • Cornell Study on the Economic and Ecological Insanity of Meat "Production"
  • Critical Animal Blog
  • Design and "Humane" Slaughter Debate
  • Excerpt from "The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?
  • Fascism and the Language of Humane Meat: John Sanbonmatsu PhD,
  • Food Guide for Vegans
  • Gary Francione Podcast: Should We Promote Vegetarianism as a Gateway to Veganism?
  • Huffington Post: "Who You Callin' Vegangelical?"
  • Humans Are Herbivorous
  • In 1906, the Bronx Zoo Put a Black Man on Display in the Monkey House
  • Laura Kamienski - Philosophy Papers
  • Moral Concern, Moral Impulse, and Logical Argument in Animal Rights Advocacy by Gary Francione
  • New York Times Op Ed: Can We See Our Hypocracy to Animals
  • On Human-Non-human Relations
  • Oscar Horta - "What is Speciesism?"
  • Oscar Horta - On the Moral Status of Animals
  • Psychology Today: Brain Scans Show Vegetarians and Vegans Are More Empathic than Omnivores
  • RIP "Humans Need Meat Argument"!
  • Salon: Article Americ's Meat Addiction is Slaughtering the Planet
  • Science Fiction and Animals
  • Some Thoughts on Animal Alterity
  • Stories of Why Vegans became Vegans
  • The Ghosts In Our Machine - Film Website
  • The Human Party of the United States
  • The Plants Feel Pain Argument - Gary Yourofsky
  • The Protien Issue
  • The international website of the Party for the Animals
  • Vegan Option Podcast: Lab Meat - Is it Vegan?
  • Vegan Saxophone Pads
  • Vegetarian Diet Needed To Prevent Global Food And Water Crisis, Report Says
  • When Moral Relativism Becomes a Justification to Exploit Animals
  • Why Honey Isn't Vegan
  • Zoos and Aquariums Do Not Accomplish What They Claim They Do

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