Despite these benefits, animals rights activists maintain ethical doubts about using animals as test subjects. They claim that animals undergo unnecessary pain when they are used in experiments.
However, while some scientific studies have concluded that animals do feel pain, others show that the cerebral cortex: the part of the brain that perceives pain , differs in animals. It decreases in size, moving down the evolutionary chain, from humans to animals. Even if animals have to capacity to feel pain, humans posses higher mental capacities than animals. This means that humans experience …show more content…
The answer to the question changes depending on the philosophical theory used to look at the issue and the way that it is applied. From an utilitarian point of view, animal research results in more benefit than harm, and is therefore ethical. Experiments on animals result in discoveries that help people live better and healthier lives. Without the utilitarian branch of philosophical thought, it would be difficult to come to this decision. It seems that most of the world agrees with this conclusion, because although medical research involving animals remains controversial, few would refuse medication on the grounds that it was created using animal