animals introduction

definitions Something is a human iff it is a homo sapien. Something is a person iff it is a self- conscious, rational being (or has the potential to be one).

goals Argue against the view that humans have special value. Argue for the view that persons have special value. Argue that we must radically change the way we think about and act toward certain humans and certain animals.

consciousness The Consciousness Account: Humans have special value because they alone are conscious. Something is conscious in the minimal sense iff it has some sort of mental life (e.g., it is capable of having some sort of thoughts or desires or sensations or emotions). Something is self-conscious iff it is aware of its own existence.

consciousness

consciousness I n a series of experiments, the elephants first explored the mirror -- reaching behind it with their trunks, kneeling before it and even trying to climb it -- gathering clues that the mirror image was just that, an image. That was followed by an eerie sequence in which the animals made slow, rhythmic movements while tracking their reflections. Then, like teenagers, they got hooked...

consciousness …all three conducted oral self-exams. Maxine, a 35- year-old female, even used the tip of her trunk to get a better look inside her mouth. She also used her trunk to slowly pull her ear in front of the mirror so she could examine it -- "self-directed" behaviors the zookeepers had never seen before… Moreover, one elephant, Happy, 34, passed the most difficult measure of self-recognition: the mark test. The researchers painted a white X on her left cheek, visible only in the mirror. Later, after moving in and out of view of the mirror, Happy stood directly before the reflective surface and touched the tip of her trunk to the mark repeatedly -- an act that, among other insights, requires an understanding that the mark is not on the mirror but on her body. -The Seattle Times, October 31st 2006

consciousness The Consciousness Account: Humans have special value because they alone are conscious. Something is conscious in the minimal sense iff it has some sort of mental life (e.g., it is capable of having some sort of thoughts or desires or sensations or emotions). Something is self-conscious iff it is aware of its own existence.