Course Reflection.

Prior to the spring semester, I was only partially aware of issues concerning animal ethics. I knew that certain topics and issues existed which posed debates concerning the treatment of animals in our society, but I had never really delved into these issues below the surface. For example, I was aware that relatively 20% of green house gas emissions derive from factory farming; however, it was not until this semester in our English class that I discovered that the majority (98%) of the meat we consume comes from factory farms (Cooney, Humane League of Phila. Presentation). I have also always been aware that animals have been treated cruelly and inhumanely in the past, and I personally think that animals should be treated with respect and care. However, it was not until this semester after I read the Animal Ethics Reader and conducted further research that I truly developed a greater sense of appreciation for animal-human relationships based upon the philosophies on the moral status and value of animals. My understanding of the appreciation of animals can be summed up in an excerpt from Tom Regan's essay "The Case for Animal Rights" presented in the Animal Ethics Reader: "It is not an act of kindness to treat animals respectfully. It is an act of justice. It is not 'the sentimental interests' of moral agents that grounds our duties of justice to children, the retarded, the senile, or other moral patients. It is respect for their inherent value. The myth of the privileged moral status if moral agents has no clothes" (Regan, 23).

I feel that I have acquired better citation skills through my writing, reading, and research this semester. I have learned various and specific ways to cite different texts. As well, I also believe that the other skills I possess as a writer have become more enhanced through the reading, writing, and research I have conducted.