On Telos and Genetic
Engineering
Nov 4 2004
Siobhan Baggot
DVM MAIS
Domestication
„
„
Domestication began
about 14 000 years ago
in the Middle-East, with
dogs and goats among
the first animals being
domesticated.
Domestication was a
contract whereby both
parties benefited.
Technology
„
With the increasing
use of technology to
assist us in keeping
animals, the original
contract has changed.
Animals are no longer
partners in the
relationship.
Telos
„
Aristotle wrote that a
living being possesses an
unmistakable character,
or being-ness. A robin
has robin-ness. While a
certain robin will live and
then die, robin-ness
endures. This enduring
fact of robin-ness allows
humans to understand
what robins are over
time.
Telos
„
The Telos of an animal is “the set of needs
and interests which are genetically based,
and environmentally expressed, and which
collectively constitute or define the form of
life or way of living by that animal, and
whose fulfillment or thwarting matter to
the animal”.
Telos Updated
„
Rollin suggests that
Telos may not be a
fixed characteristic,
but that it is
malleable. Humans
can change it.
Animal Welfare
„
Telos may be used to
define the parameters
of animal welfare.
Fox and Telos
„
Dr Michael Fox argues that we should
respect the nature, or telos, of animals.
Since genetic engineering involves the
deliberate alteration of animals it violates
their telos. We should therefore refrain
from using animals in genetic research.
Rollin and Telos
„
We now have the tools to alter animals’
Telos, so perhaps we can manipulate their
genes so that the animals created are
more suited to the environments in which
we keep them.
Rollin
„
“If we alter the Telos
in such a way that
different things
matter to the animals,
or in such a way that
is irrelevant to the
animal, we have not
violated the maxim to
respect Telos”.
Maxim to Respect Telos
„
“If an animal has a set of needs and
interests which are constitutive of its
nature, then in our dealings with that
animal, we are obliged not to violate and
to attempt to accommodate these
interests, for violation and failure to
accommodate those interests matters to
the animal.”
Changing Chickens
„
If we could make a
chicken through genetic
engineering that no
longer wanted to scratch
dirt, flap her wings, or
turn around, then she
would be a happier caged
chicken. Her chickennature or Telos would
have been genetically
modified.
Comstock and Telos
“What if we could make
these animals adjust
better to their
environment and
genetically engineer them
into senseless humps of
flesh, solely directed at
transforming grain and
water into
eggs…intuitively, treating
an animal this way- or
rather creating an animal
for this purpose- is
morally problematic,”
Regan and Telos
„
„
„
„
Animals are subjects of their own lives.
As subjects of their own lives, as beings with
intrinsic value, they are worthy of respect.
Animals have rights based on their possession of
intrinsic value. They are valuable apart from
their usefulness to others.
Animals should not be used as means to an end.
Integrity
„
“Integrity is the wholeness and intactness
of an animal and its species-specific
balance, as well as the capacity to sustain
itself in an environment suitable to the
species”. Bovenkerk, Brom and an den Burgh.
In Conclusion
„
Is it morally wrong
to change an
animal’s basic
nature in order to
satisfy our own
demands?