A Tempered Rationalism for a Tempered Yuck Factor-Using Disgust in Bioethics

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Animal Ethics
• Moral Psychology

Background:

• Reactions of disgust are common when considering invasive biological manipulation of animals.
• The Belgian Blue cattle breed serves as a case study for historical revulsion towards animal enhancement.
• The 'yuck factor' has traditionally been excluded from moral justification in bioethics and animal ethics due to rationalism's dominance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how researchers critical of rationalism can incorporate disgust's role in moral judgments regarding animal biological manipulation.
• To propose a framework that acknowledges the influence of disgust without discarding rationalism's virtues.
• To re-evaluate the relationship between emotion and rationality in ethical decision-making concerning animal biotechnology.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical analysis of rationalism and its limitations in bioethics.
• Examination of the 'yuck factor' and its psychological and ethical implications.
• Development of a 'tempered' rationalism incorporating well-ordered emotion, drawing on Mary Midgley's philosophy.

Main Results:

• The study challenges the traditional exclusion of disgust from moral justification in animal ethics.
• It demonstrates that a 'tempered' rationalism can integrate emotional responses like disgust into ethical reasoning.
• This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of moral judgments concerning biological manipulation of animals.

Conclusions:

• A 'tempered' rationalism, as proposed, offers a way to reconcile rational ethical deliberation with intuitive emotional responses.
• This framework supports taking disgust seriously in bioethical discussions on animal manipulation.
• It upholds key virtues of rationalism, such as universality and objectivity, while acknowledging the role of emotion.