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10.–12. Juli 2025, Humboldtallee 19, PH 0.133

7th Göttingen-Chicago Graduate Conference




Programm als PDF-Datei

Gastvortrag am 16.07.2025, 18 Uhr c.t., PH 20

Prof. Dr. Alison Stone (Lancaster University):

Frances Power Cobbe: A Victorian Woman Philosopher on Animal Ethics

Abstract
In this talk I introduce Frances Power Cobbe, a well-known moral and religious philosopher in Victorian Britain. One of her central interests was animal ethics. I outline her arguments in her first article on the topic, where she held that we have a fundamental duty of benevolence towards all sentient beings. On this basis, she began to campaign for the legal regulation of vivisection. That led her into a major dispute with Charles Darwin, who opposed the proposed laws she had drafted and which her allies presented in parliament. In turn, Cobbe began to oppose Darwinism on the grounds that it had negative moral consequences, particularly for animals.