ABSTRACT

In this paper, we argue that scientists working on the animal morality debate have been operating with a narrow view of morality that prematurely limits the variety of moral practices that animals may be capable of. We show how this bias can be partially corrected by paying more attention to the touch behaviors of animals. We argue that a careful examination of the ways in which animals engage in and navigate touch interactions can shed new light on current debates on animal morality, like the study of consolation behavior, while also revealing further forms that animal morality may take that have been neglected so far, like capacities of tolerance or trust. This defense is structured as an analysis of the three main functions of touch: the discriminative function, the affiliative function, and the vigilance function.

摘要

在本文中，我们认为从事动物道德辩论的科学家们的道德观狭窄，过早地限制了动物可能具有的多种道德实践。我们展示了如何通过更加注意动物的触摸行为来部分纠正这种偏差。我们认为，仔细研究动物参与和操纵触摸互动的方式可以为当前关于动物道德的辩论提供新的思路，例如研究安慰行为，同时还揭示了动物道德可能采取的其他形式，这些形式已被忽略到目前为止，就像容忍或信任的能力一样。这种防御的结构是对触摸的三个主要功能的分析：辨别功能，从属功能和警惕功能。