Course Reflection

The readings, writings, and research I have conducted this semester in English 802 have developed my appreciation for and understanding of some of the ethical issues and dilemmas regarding human-animal relations. I have become an informed vegetarian, with hopes of becoming vegan, through the works in the eating animals section of The Animal Ethics Reader. DeGrazia’s essay Meat-Eating really opened my eyes to the horrible animal treatment in factory farms. Also, the detailed descriptions of Foer, in Eating Animals, hit home with my emotions when he discussed the different industrial pig-breeding facilities who maintain workers who were found, “slamming them against concrete floors and bludgeoning them with metal gate rods and hammers” (182). Although eating animals may have impacted my life the most, I have also explored the ethics of animal experimentation, animals used as entertainment in zoos, and overall theories of animal ethics. I adapted the understanding that animals used for experimentation, under the right circumstances, is appropriate. Better stated in Moore’s words in Why I Support Dissection in Science Education, “To be justified, dissection must be performed in the context of an intelligently planned and educationally valid curriculum” (2). Through first-hand research at the Philadelphia zoo, I have decided that animals used for zoos is completely unethical. Overall, the contrasting ideas of Donovan and Regan aided in the development of the thought that non-human animals should count morally. 

Through my readings, writings, and research I have developed the skill of intertwining all of my reading and research together to make sense. Before, I would find myself not really relating the texts with each other. Now, I feel that I have mastered the task. Also, I have learned how to properly address quotes, use personal experience, and feed off of other’s ideas (in blogs or in-class discussions) to construct a well-written and sophisticated essay. This semester I also have developed the ability to bring in counter-arguments to make my argument stronger. I believe that my writing skills have significantly improved throughout this semester.