The Block Plan at Colorado College has a tradition of innovation and flexibility. Please design your own three-and-a-half week intellectual adventure and describe what you would do.
Philosophy for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
As animal welfare is always a concern of mine, I will spend this three and a half weeks exploring this issue in depth. This will be an interdisciplinary course involving sociology and philosophy,
The first week will be about the question:"How are animals treated in our society?" Facts have been kept away from the public and I should use this week to dig them out.
Firstly, I would fully make use of the existing materials, i.e., books and videos on this topic, in order to have a comprehensive understanding of the current situation of animal welfare. Secondly, I would visit farms, animal shelters and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo myself to observe the living conditions of animals. Talking to the workers there is also an essential.
In the second week, I will use the philosophical approach to analyse the question: "How should animals be treated in our society?" The relationship between human and non-human animals is not a new topic of discussion. From the book of Genisis to the masterpiece of Aristotle and Aquinas, there are many sources I need to fully explore. For my analysis to be objective, I would like to go through as many cases against animal rights as cases for.
From the first two weeks' study, I am likely to find that how we treat animals today are not how we are expected to and animal welfare is not assured in most cases. So in the third week I will focus on the solution: "What can we do to change the situation?" I will arrange a meeting with a staff of an animal welfare organization. The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region is located only ten minutes' drive away from Colorado College, which gives much convenience. From our talk, I will be able to have a general idea of what have been done so far and what is left to be done. Then I will analyse individually about how, from a broad perspective, can we improve animal welfare. In particular, I will focus more on the problems I found out in the local area during the first week.
Concluding the course in the last half week, I will fully make use of what I have learnt in this course. While the final report I finish is likely to be broad and comprehensive, I will have another specific focus on a smaller issue that can be improved straight away and take action, for example, to write to the City of Colorado Springs council to persuade them to choose free-range instead of cage eggs for their various functions. I will also give a public talk in the college about what I learnt in order to raise the students' awareness of animal welfare.
Thanks for reading! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.=D
Philosophy for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
As animal welfare is always a concern of mine, I will spend this three and a half weeks exploring this issue in depth. This will be an interdisciplinary course involving sociology and philosophy,
The first week will be about the question:"How are animals treated in our society?" Facts have been kept away from the public and I should use this week to dig them out.
Firstly, I would fully make use of the existing materials, i.e., books and videos on this topic, in order to have a comprehensive understanding of the current situation of animal welfare. Secondly, I would visit farms, animal shelters and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo myself to observe the living conditions of animals. Talking to the workers there is also an essential.
In the second week, I will use the philosophical approach to analyse the question: "How should animals be treated in our society?" The relationship between human and non-human animals is not a new topic of discussion. From the book of Genisis to the masterpiece of Aristotle and Aquinas, there are many sources I need to fully explore. For my analysis to be objective, I would like to go through as many cases against animal rights as cases for.
From the first two weeks' study, I am likely to find that how we treat animals today are not how we are expected to and animal welfare is not assured in most cases. So in the third week I will focus on the solution: "What can we do to change the situation?" I will arrange a meeting with a staff of an animal welfare organization. The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region is located only ten minutes' drive away from Colorado College, which gives much convenience. From our talk, I will be able to have a general idea of what have been done so far and what is left to be done. Then I will analyse individually about how, from a broad perspective, can we improve animal welfare. In particular, I will focus more on the problems I found out in the local area during the first week.
Concluding the course in the last half week, I will fully make use of what I have learnt in this course. While the final report I finish is likely to be broad and comprehensive, I will have another specific focus on a smaller issue that can be improved straight away and take action, for example, to write to the City of Colorado Springs council to persuade them to choose free-range instead of cage eggs for their various functions. I will also give a public talk in the college about what I learnt in order to raise the students' awareness of animal welfare.
Thanks for reading! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.=D
