

Scientists say dolphins should be treated as 'non-human persons' - tdedecko
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article6973994.ece

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grellas
_Marino and Reiss will present their findings at a conference in San Diego,
California, next month, concluding that the new evidence about dolphin
intelligence makes it morally repugnant to mistreat them._

It is morally repugnant to mistreat animals regardless of the intelligence of
the animal and being a scientist has nothing to do with making such a
judgment, since it is not a scientific judgment but an ethical one. Thus, the
new-found evidence serves only to dramatize something these scientists want
because of their philosophical predispositions, not because of their knowledge
as scientists. If the logic suggested in the article were true, the converse
might be up for consideration as well (e.g., that we can be cruel to deer
because they are so dumb).

Science and advocacy are distinct and should be kept that way. Scientists
_can_ be advocates but, when they are, they are not acting as scientists but
as everyone else who seeks to further an ethical position they believe to be
right.

