The Moral Lives of Animals

Sunday, May 29, 2016
First Aired:
Sunday, September 15, 2013

What Is It

From Aristotle and Kant to Hume and Darwin, philosophers and scientists have long denied the idea that animals are capable of acting for moral reasons. Yet empirical evidence suggests that many animals have rich emotional lives, and some even demonstrate distinctly altruistic or empathetic behavior. So how should we interpret this behavior? Do the moral feelings of animals suggest they are capable of responding to moral reasons? Or do they lack the cognitive capacity necessary for being truly moral? John and Ken examine their animal nature with Mark Rowlands from the University of Miami, author of动物能道德吗?

Listening Notes

当你的狗因为做了错事而不好意思地抬头看着你时,它是否表现出了对道德的基本理解?还是他只是因为你生气才生气?道德是人类独有的特征,还是动物也能按照伦理原则行事?肯以坚定的态度开始:将道德行为的能力归因于动物只是一种人格化的错误。和康德一样,肯认为对原则的反思对于道德是必要的。约翰指出,许多我们认为有道德的人不会反思他们的行为,而只是遵循他们的本能。和休谟一样,约翰认为道德行为所需要的就是正确情感的存在。

After being introduced as this show’s guest, Mark outlines what he believes to be the right condition for morality. He claims that to be moral, one must have a reliable normative sensitivity to certain morally salient features of the environment. In an effort to unpack this complicated idea, Mark asks John and Ken to consider a person. A person is emotionally sensitive to the happiness and the sadness of those around them. This is no accident; there’s a reliable cognitive mechanism that makes it the case. According to Mark, this is enough to guarantee that the person can be morally motivated.

接下来要讨论的是三个方面的区别,这是马克观点的基础,即道德病人,道德主体,和道德行为人。有道德的病人会做道德上的冤枉。有道德的行为者可能造成错误。道德主体是有道德动机的。马克认为动物是道德上的病人和主体,而不是施动者,所以它们不应该为自己的行为承担道德责任。

节目结束时,约翰想知道马克的观点的实际含义。如果我们相信动物可以被道德情操所激励,这将如何影响我们对待它们的方式?马克指出,动物权利的大多数实际后果都是由动物是道德病人这一理念所保证的。然而,一旦我们相信动物也是道德的主体,它们也变得值得一种特殊的尊重。

  • Roving Philosophical Reporter(Seek to 5:04): Laura Braitman, author of the forthcomingAnimal Madness,and National Geographic’s Editor at Large Michael Nichols present evidence that there is a shared conception of right and wrong in certain animal groups like elephants.

  • 60-Second Philosopher(第48章46节):伊恩·肖尔斯以一种典型的爆笑方式,喋喋不休地讲述着我们是如何沉迷于通过人类的镜头来过滤动物行为的。

Transcript