Summary and Critical Evaluation of “In Defense of Speciesism” from Carl Cohen’s article “The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research.”

Write a (roughly) 750 word paper on the section “In Defense of Speciesism” from Carl Cohen’s article “The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research.” You will need to do two things in your paper:

1. First, summarize as accurately and fairly as possible the argument Cohen makes in the section “In Defense of “Speciesism” (pp.3-4). Identify the conclusion of the argument, as well as the important premises which are intended to support the conclusion. Do not criticize the argument in this part of the paper.  Instead, focus on presenting it accurately and fairly.  Do not use quotations from the article in this section.
2. Second, give your own objection to the argument. This involves giving an argument of your own. In doing so, be sure that your objection is targeting Cohen’s argument and not merely his conclusion. Plan to spend roughly one half of the paper explaining your objection.

Assignment Requirements:

• Roughly 750 words
• double spaced
• 1 inch margins
• 12 point font

Grading criteria:

1. Accuracy: Your paper should present the views of others accurately.  For this paper, this primarily refers to the views of Anderson, but also includes the views of anyone else you discuss in your paper.
2. Clarity: The language of the paper should be simple and easy to understand.  The relevance of each part of the paper should also be clear. The reader should not be left wondering what the point of any given sentence is, for example.
3. Organization: The overall structure of the paper makes sense.  There are distinct paragraphs, each of which serves a distinct and useful purpose.  The paragraphs are organized in a way that makes understanding the paper easy.  Each sentence is where it belongs.
4. Plausibility: The objection you give must be at least somewhat plausible.  This means that there is not an obvious response to your objection that you have overlooked. 
5. Charity: Present the views of others fairly and respectfully, making a sincere attempt to portray them in the best way possible.  Do not use ridicule or straw-man attacks, and do not claim or imply that your opponent or their views are silly or crazy.
6. Don’t plagiarize. Plagiarism is often committed unintentionally, but unintentional plagiarism is taken no less seriously by the university.  Direct quotes need to be in quotation marks and cited.  Students sometimes have trouble discerning the difference between putting something in their own words, on the one hand, and plagiarizing, on the other.  If you find yourself trying to reword a paragraph sentence-by-sentence by simply replacing words, you’re probably plagiarizing.