For our children : the ethics of animal experimentation in the age of genetic engineering /

This book should appeal to a broad range of readers interested in the ethics of animal experimentation. It is particularly appropriate for scientists and others who have a limited background in the various philosophical positions used to criticize or support animal research. Nordgren (Linkoping Univ., Sweden) provides an overview of five broad "ethical prototypes": "human dominion," "strong human priority," "weak human priority," "equal consideration of interests," and "animal rights." The presentation is lucid and refreshingly nontechnical. Nordgren devotes most of the book to defending the middle ground of the weak human priority position. He argues for balancing the welfare of animals with the scientific and medical value of animal experimentation. The latter often outweighs the former, but ethical judgments must be made on a case-by-case basis. To do this, the author proposes an approach referred to as "imaginative casuistry." When considering each particular experiment, scientists must carefully investigate alternatives and choose the one most likely to benefit humanity with the least harm to animals. Thus, Nordgren stresses the "3Rs" of animal experimentation: "replacement, reduction, and refinement." The book concludes with a discussion of experiments involving genetic engineering of animals, which will be of particular interest to many readers. Summing Up: Recommended. Libraries serving upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty and general readers. J. B. Hagen Radford University