Description
Book SynopsisExamining the ideas and attitudes that encourage scientists to experiment on living creatures, what their justifications are, and how these have changed over time. Experimentation on animalsparticularly humansis often assumed to be a uniquely modern phenomenon. But the ideas and attitudes that encourage biological and medical scientists to experiment on living creatures date from the earliest expressions of Western thought. In Experimenting with Humans and Animals, Anita Guerrini looks at the history of these practices and examines the philosophical and ethical arguments that justified them. Guerrini discusses key historical episodes in the use of living beings in science and medicine, including the discovery of blood circulation, the development of smallpox and polio vaccines, and recent research in genetics, ecology, and animal behavior. She also explores the rise of the antivivisection movement in Victorian England, the modern animal rights movement, and current debates over gen
Trade ReviewI was impressed by Guerrini's vast knowledge of the historical development of biomedical science, including the events that matter to ethical issues around use of animal and human subjects in research.
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Perspectives in Science and Christian Faith...a valuable, insightful, and useful book, covering a vast time span and a weighty theme.
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Journal of the History of BiologyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Bodies of Evidence: Experimentation and Philosophical Debate in Premodern Europe
Chapter 2. Animals, Machines, and Morals
Chapter 3. Disrupting God's Plan
Chapter 4. Cruelty and Kindness
Chapter 5. The Microbe Hunters
Chapter 6. Polio and Primates
Chapter 7. From Nuremberg to CRISPR: New Rules and New Sciences
Conclusion
Suggested Further Reading
Notes
Index