9: Animal Experiments

The goal of this chapter is to refine bioethical theory into an applicable overview of arguments that researchers can use as orientation for their daily discourses and experiments. The virtue ethics approach of the previous chapters is not sufficient for that. Instead, a brief introduction to bioethical reasoning strategies will give the reader a clearer sense for the conflict potential that the pro and the contra side face. Here, the image of ethics as a prism, as drawn in Chapter 1 is very powerful: we are not looking for the right solution as the result of an ethical lens, but rather attempt to refract the complexity of views into clear and plausible positions and their underlying justifications. It is also in this respect that every chemist, not only those who conduct animal experiments, may gain from paying careful attention to this chapter. In a propaedeutic sense, getting to know the approaches employed in an ethical hot topic like animal research supports ethical reasoning and argumentation competence and prepares for other seemingly intractable conflicts in the discourse on science and research.