Vivisection

Leffingwell, Albert, 1845-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.0

Word count: 98K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Vivisection by Albert LeffingwellAuthor: Leffingwell, Albert, 1845-1916,Language: English, Class: HV: Social sciences: Social pathology, Social and Public Welfare, Release Date: Apr 17, 2010

Editor's review

This is Albert Leffingwell's early polemical text on the subject of vivisection, released free of charge by Project Gutenberg. Writing from the perspective of social pathology and public welfare, the author examines animal experimentation through the tension between ethics, medical progress, and the public interest, in a style characteristic of late-nineteenth-century reformers. Its value lies not in offering a complete framework for modern experimental ethics, but in presenting the historical starting point of this debate: how opponents at the time argued, what grounds they invoked, and how they engaged with the medical establishment. For readers studying the history of animal ethics, medical history, or social reform movements, this is a primary document that can be cited directly; for general readers, it is more like a window that helps explain where today's regulations on laboratory animals came from. It should be read as a historical text rather than a contemporary guide, with attention to distinguishing the author's rhetorical stance from verifiable factual claims, and ideally read alongside modern ethical review systems.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University faculty and students studying the history of animal ethics and medical history who need primary polemical documents
Public-interest practitioners concerned with laboratory animal welfare who want to understand the origins of the debate
Readers of history and literature interested in late-nineteenth-century social reform thought
Book club members who need English public-domain material for discussions of ethical issues

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking an operational guide to modern laboratory animal ethics standards
Beginners expecting systematic instruction in medicine or physiology
Readers unaccustomed to long polemical English sentences who want only light reading

Reading tips

Read the opening and conclusion first to grasp the author's core arguments, then return to the intermediate layers of argumentation
Mark the types of evidence the author cites as you read, distinguishing factual claims from rhetorical expression
Read alongside a modern review of laboratory animal ethics to observe how the issues have evolved
For the English original, read through once without worrying about full comprehension, then look up key terms on the second pass

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable as a reference for modern animal experimentation ethics?

Not really suitable as a reference for modern standards. It is a historical polemical text reflecting the modes of argument and levels of evidence of the late nineteenth century. To learn about current ethical review principles, consult contemporary reviews or regulatory documents; this book is better used to understand the historical context of the issue and the argumentative approaches of early opponents.

What level of English is needed to read this book?

The original is a public-domain English text with long sentences and a strongly polemical tone; university-level English reading ability should suffice. It is advisable to read through first for the general sense and look up key terms afterward; if used mainly for research, consult related Chinese scholarly literature for background rather than reading every sentence closely.

What are the characteristics of the Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides a free electronic text that is easy to search, copy, and cite, suitable for excerpting and classroom materials. However, this edition generally lacks modern annotations and introductions, so readers must supply historical background themselves; when citing, the original publication information and page numbering system should also be verified.

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About the author

Leffingwell, Albert, 1845-1916 Author · American · 1845–1916

Albert Leffingwell (1845–1916) was an American physician, writer, and social reformer. Public information about him is limited, and few details of his life survive, but his extant works show a lasting concern with medical ethics and public health and a firm stance against vivisection. His representative works, An Ethical Problem and Vivisection, focus on the moral controversy surrounding animal experimentation and examine medical practice from an ethical and social perspective. His writing is argumentative in tone and reflects a reformer's practical concern. Only two of his works are held in this collection, yet they suffice to show how he combined his professional identity as a physician with public writing, giving him a place in the animal-protection and medical-ethics debates of his time.