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fromOxford Magazineno.340, 2nd Week, Michaelmas Term 2013, pp.6-7

Ruth Harrison and Other Animals

MATTHEW SIMPSON

There was an excellen conference in he !oolo"# $eparmen earlier

his #ear on he s%&'ec of wo pioneerin" &ooks p%&lished a&o% fif#

#ears a"o and he wo heroic women who wroe hem. (achel )arson*s

Silent Spring+162 is he &eer-known &ook, in prin eer since is firs

appearance. (%h /arrison*s exposof facor# farmin",Animal Machines

+164, did no reappear in a second ediion %nil he occasion of hisxford conference, alho%"h she had persised as an elo%en and

effecie a"iaor on her s%&'ec %nil her deah in he #ear 2000. n fac

he closin" speaker a he conference old a sor# neal# ill%srain" his

persisence some farmin" represenaie expressed his relief a findin"

ha he enacio%s (%h /arrison was apparenl# no lon"er presen a a

meein", &% he was %ickl# correced from &ehind a filin" ca&ine +i

was a small room *m sill here.5 To which o%r speaker added, nd

indeed she is.5

m%s sa# ha inwardl# disp%ed ha addiion, a leas in is mos

immediae applicaion. We were "enero%sl# fed d%rin" he conference

+for which, sincere hanks, &% here was no indicaion of he food*s

proenance ha is, of how he land or he animals implicaed in i had

&een reaed. was &lihel# )arson8/arrison-free fare. 9or did he

or"anisers wish o ake %p he s%""esion +no do%& he# had er# "ood

academic and oher reasons ha he conference mi"h sponsor a

saemen of some sor, %r"in" he :niersi#*s caerin" commiees o

do heir &es o ac %pon he eachin"s of he wo women. These ma#seem er# parochial poins, &% hink he#*re raher he reerse of ha.

We can* leae laws and codes of pracice, or for ha maer &ooks, o do

o%r ehics for %s. /arrison herself said as m%ch. mmediael# afer

lisin" six specific &ans which she wished o see enaced, she concedes

ha ;e"islaion alone will no proide he animals wih an ade%ae

charer.51 nd wo%ld s%""es +or i wo%ldn* hae &een worh

menionin" hese cails ha he conference*s collecie porrai of his

woman, and likewise he acco%ns "ien seeral of he same

disin"%ished academics in he new ediion of her &ook, hae

%nderesimaed her radicalism.

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% '%s &efore ha

endin" oAnimal Machines, here is a "lance a somehin" m%ch more

f%ndamenal han animal welfare as normall# %ndersood We need5,

/arrison sa#s, o reassess o%r &asic ai%de owards he animals which

are &red solel# for h%man &enefi.5 This is no modes or parialproposal? We5 means all h%mans, and animals5 as defined here leaes

o% onl# he a&sol%el# feral.

shall re%rn o his aspec of (%h /arrison*s ho%"h a lile laer.

happens ha here was a differen sor of xford s#mposi%m, '%s a few

#ears aferAnimal Machines was p%&lished, which se o% o presen &oh

he real-life pro&lems5 and he necessar# menal reassessmen in a

comprehensie saemen. ook he form of a &ook calledAnimals, Men

and Morals, edied hree pos-"rad%ae philosophers. @eeral of heir

fellow-wriers for he &ook were likewise :niersi# people? accordin"l#

some of is chapers are academic s%dies of one kind or anoher, ho%"h

wrien wih %nc%somar# fero%r and impaience. hers la# o% he

facs for facor# farmin", for f%r and cosmeics, and for experimens on

animals. lho%"h i made no "rea splash a he ime +171, his &ook

proed o &e he fo%ndin" ex of he modern animal ri"hs moemen,

in &oh is philosophical and is poliical forms. Warneford

ps#cholo"is called (ichard (#der wroe he chaper on iisecion? in

fac he seems o hae &een lar"el# responsi&le for prompin" and

faciliain" he &ook as a whole. @ince $r (#der will &e speakin" in

xford nex monh +on 7 h9oem&er a Mansfield )olle"e, i*s opical

o sa# a lile more a&o% his par in he &ook.

(#der himself had done research work wih animals + poliel# %se ha

richl# e%phemisic wih5. ;ike (%h /arrison, herefore, he knew he

hin"s of which he came o wrie. Wha he firs wroe was a pamphle

iled Speciesism, which he p%&lished and disri&%ed ro%nd xford in

170 some readers ma# remem&er i. (#der coined is ile-word on he

analo"# of Aracism* and Asexism*, in order o show a a lexical "lance hahe moral reol%ion of he 160s, %nfinished as i o&io%sl# was, had

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sill anoher ancien orhodox# o sar o %ndo. ># placin" he s%&'ec of

animal welfare in ha poliical conex, he new word also freed i from

is conenional associaions wih he minor "ood works of well-off old

ladies +ie. co%ra"eo%s women who mean o "e somehin" ri"h done,

as for%nael# man# sill do. When anoher xford pos-"rad%ae, Beer@in"er, reiewed Animals, Men and Morals for he New York Review of

ooks, and when he wen on o wrie Animal !i"eration +17C, he %sed

Aspeciesism* as his ke# word for '%s hose reasons and despie is

awkwardness +he word is no an aracie one, &% can hink of no

&eer erm53. $efinin" as i does he essenial wron", i remains a

complee work of animal ehics and a r%le-&ook in en leers.

@in"er*s reiew spoke ofAnimal, Men and Moralsas a manifeso for an

nimal ;i&eraion moemen5.

4

n he een, i was his own &ook which&ecame ha manifeso, and i has &een so eer since. >% i was he

earlier &ook which had esa&lished he proper wa# o look a his

s%&'ec no '%s as a miscellan# of improised cr%elies, callin" on he

serices of kindl# people o press for remedies, &% as an enormo%s and

s#semaic wron" re%irin" a f%ndamenal chan"e of mind. s he

&ook*s ABosscrip* sa#s so m%ch in he spiri of ha ime, as well as of

ha pro'ec we wan o chan"e he world.5C

(ichard (#der*s chaper of he &ook, s%re#in" he law and pracice of

animal research, was a "ood deal lon"er han an# of he ohers +he

aferwards made a &ook of i, called #ictims of Science. "ies man#

examples of conemporar# experimens, ill%sraie of wha animals

mi"h &e asked o end%re ras in heir AWri"h %o-@moker*, do"s

hain" heir le"s cr%shed in he noorio%s A>lalock Bress* +ah, hose

eocaie rade-namesD, pre"nan &a&oons in car-crash sim%laions, and

so on. few of he examples are from xford*s la&oraories. *s a

dis"%sin" read, and i all sis in he &alef%l shade of he chaper*s

epi"raph, aken from he works of one of experimenal ps#cholo"#*s

leadin" praciioners, /arr# /arlow mos experimens are no worh

doin" and he daa o&ained are no worh p%&lishin"5.6

is ofen asked of hose who oppose iisecion wh# he# don* &oher

a&o% he far "reaer n%m&ers of animals killed for food. The simple

answer of co%rse is ha he# do. sAnimals, Men and Moralsinsised, i*s

all one s%&'ec, ho%"h some ma# specialiEe wihin i. >% here*s a more

%npleasan answer oo.

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experimen.5 The la&oraor# exemplifies speciesism in an especiall#

sark and modern wa#, &% i also promoes and pioneers i.

pop%lar acco%n of animal research p%&lished in 163 makes his las

poin er# clearl#. $he Science of Animal ehavio%rwas wrien for heBelican imprin B.;.>roadh%rs, a professor a >irmin"ham. /e was

pres%ma&l# aimin" he &ook a he la#-person and he aspirin" #o%n"

scienis, and i is paenl# and reasona&l# inended as an aderisemen

for his profession. There is no m%ch in i a&o% animals as he# can &e

o&sered in na%re. The la&oraor# is >roadh%rs*s preferred sein",

parl# &eca%se ha was his own place of work +ras and he

misleadin"l# f%n-so%ndin" sh%le &ox5 were his c%somar# ools, &%

mainl# &eca%se animals in hemseles do no %ie consi%e a s%&'ec

here is esseniall# onl# one &asic scienific ineres in he s%d# ofanimal &ehaio%r and ha is o learn more a&o% man himself.57

ccordin"l# a hi"h poin of his presenaion is he conemporar#

research of ha same Brofessor /arlow ino maernal depriaion as i

affeced &a rhes%s monke#s. Mohers are imporan, i is "enerall#

a"reed5, m%ses o%r a%hor, himself a famil# man. >% '%s how

imporan =F5 /arlow*s work wih his arificial mohers, cali&raed as

o heir loelessness and delin%enc#, seemed o proide some answers.

roadh%rs repors, hese forlorn &a&ies preferred a

sof cloh model een when i did no proide milk o a hard one which

didD5 9o '%s he %l"ar exclamaion mark, &% he coer of he &ook,

pic%rin" a monke# in he hroes of his paheic decision, show ha he

experimen, which sho%ld &rin" ears o he e#es of an# person of

ordinar# sensi&ili#, is ho%"h o insance he discipline of animal

research a is &es.

*m s%re ha Brofessor >roadh%rs was a "enial eno%"h man, ho%"h of

/arlow one can &e raher less cerain. >oh had wies who helped hem

in heir research, if ha*s relean. s (ichard (#der sa#s in his &ook

#ictims of Science+17C, M# inenion is in no wa# o defame scieniss,

&% o %esion heir conenions.5G nd he conenion in which

>roadh%rs was workin" is er# clear i is he old maser8slae

conenion. nd no '%s a work, where he lowl# roden and his

la&oraor# maser5 lie o% ha relaionship. Those wo are he emplae

for a m%ch lar"er pro'ec, &eca%se he exploiaion in he serice of man

of he &ehaio%ral reso%rces of animals has hardl# &e"%n.5 n he

ediorial foreword o $he Science of Animal ehavio%r, his serice of

man5 is frankl# and enh%siasicall# called slae la&o%r5.

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seemed na%ral o >roadh%rs and his edior o cas he scienis as he

desi"ner of o%r f%%re relaions wih animals. @o while (%h /arrison

was proposin" hose checks on he ind%srialisaion of farmin",

>roadh%rs was ellin" his Belican a%dience ha he presen role of

animals in food prod%cion wo%ld soon seem piif%ll# small5 +a mosineresin" choice of ader&. To some exen, as he xford conference

demonsraed, science has &e"%n o proide is own correcie in he

new academic discipline of nimal Welfare, where indeed xford has

aken a leadin" par. >% &eliee ha >roadh%rs himself wo%ld hae

welcomed ha, as keepin" he sor# wihin he la&oraor# and is

alloropes. >esides, science has no &een &ro%"h o a pa%se in his

maer. 9ew wa#s of exploiin" animals for food, indeed new animals,

are &ein" ho%"h %p and made real for new forms of slaer#.

9o, %r"enl# needed as paric%lar correcions are, i is onl# man*s re-

appraisal of his posiion in relaion o he crea%res wih which he shares

he enironmen5 ha hese and all he oher wron"s caalo"%ed in

Animals, Men and Moralscan &e %ndersood and %ndone, and new ones

preened. Tha %oaion is from (%h /arrison*s own chaper in he

&ook. is of co%rse he chaper a&o% facor# farmin", &% i is also he

firs chaper, and i acs as an inrod%cion o wha follows. /er firs

senence accordin"l# akes a f%ll# re-proporionin" iew of o%r sandin"

in he na%ral world is a so&erin" ho%"h ha animals co%ld do

wiho% man #e man wo%ld find i impossi&le o do wiho% animals.5

This is a radical fac if #o% read co%ld5 as a pas ense, #o% hae he

whole ra"ic hisor# of h%man8animal relaions &efore #o%.

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1Animal Machines, CAB International, 2013, p.202. Later quotations from Harrisons text are from pp. 35, 203, 202,

and 3.

2 !a"id #raser, inAnimal Machines, p.1$. %&e 'still &ere( stor) is told in t&is same pie*e, p.1+.

3Animal Liberation, imli*o, 1$$5, p.-

New York Review of Books, "ol.20, no.5, April 5, 1$+3

5Animals, Men and Morals, ed. /tanle) and oslind odlo"it*& and o&n Harris, ollan*, 1$+1, p.232. Later

quotations are from p.11.

- eferen*ed in t&e text toJournal of Comparative and h!siolo"ical s!cholo"!, 1$-2

+ %he #cience of Animal Behaviour, en4uin Boos, 1$-3, p.12. Later quotations are from pp.+, +3, 100, 135, and 132.

6ational Anti78i"ise*tion /o*iet), 1$3, p.x"