| dc.description.abstract | Due to the shortage of funds, dog’s tragic incident of eating the dog happened in the animal shelter for abandoned dogs in Taichung in March, 2006. In this incident, we perceive a very serious animal problem. The purpose of this thesis is to find the possible basis to prove the possibility of treating animals equally through investigating the moral position that animals have. Therefore, the main point of selecting the animals possess moral position as the subject is to survey how the moral consideration is formed in mind when people introspect the treatment of animals, and how these principles derive practical actions.
In the course of the exploration, the researcher collected, analyzed, and put relevant documents in order and the researcher, during the process, discovered the animals’ problem lies in the relation between the mankind and the animal. After confirming the topic of the thesis, the next step was to affirm that the animals possess moral position through the investigation of the theories, and to find possible basis for treating animals equally. For the study method, the researcher first probed into the animal ethics in the perspectives of Singer’s Utilitarianism, and then study the criticism on Singer’s viewpoints made by philosophers: Frey, Regan and Cohen, and Singer’s responses for the criticism.
Are the animals born to have moral position? Is the position conferred by the mankind? The aim of the research is to understand how the mankind should orientate animals and treat them equally by bringing up the theories of animals’ moral position, and to amend the mankind’s irrational attitude and ill treatment to the animals. | en_US |