Central and East European
Society for Phenomenology

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185368

Weak ethics, strong feelings

Hans Harbers

pp. 143-149

Abstract

Lunacies like these are typical for what Korthals describes as the practice of companion animals. And no reasonable person would expect to impose such an exorbitant intimacy with animals on other practices of human-animal relations, like farming or experimental animal research. We don't have at our disposal a strong animal ethics, applicable to all practices and generally accepted; and it would be rather unpragmatic to develop and enforce one. But strong feelings towards animals we have - positive or negative. Such feelings, I would argue, should not be passed over too quickly as mere sentiments or unarticulated intuitions. On the contrary, they are a cornerstone of (not only moral) deliberations and learning processes concerning human-animal relations. Weak ethics but strong feelings.

Publication details

Published in:

Keulartz Jozef, Korthals Michiel, Schermer Maartje, Swierstra Tsjalling (2002) Pragmatist ethics for a technological culture. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 143-149

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-010-0301-8_11

Full citation:

Harbers Hans (2002) „Weak ethics, strong feelings“, In: J. Keulartz, M. Korthals, M. Schermer & T. Swierstra (eds.), Pragmatist ethics for a technological culture, Dordrecht, Springer, 143–149.