Michael Allen Fox

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Michael Allen Fox
Born (1940-05-07) 7 May 1940 (age 83)
NationalityAmerican, Canadian, Australian
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
Notable workThe Case for Animal Experimentation (1986)
Deep Vegetarianism (1999)
InstitutionsQueen's University

Michael Allen Fox (born 7 May 1940) is an American/Canadian/Australian philosopher who was based at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario from 1966 until his retirement in 2005. He is the author of a number of books, including The Case for Animal Experimentation: An Evolutionary and Ethical Perspective (University of California Press, 1986)—the arguments and conclusion of which he later rejected—Deep Vegetarianism (Temple University Press, 1999), The Accessible Hegel (Humanity Books, 2005), The Remarkable Existentialists (Humanity, 2009), Understanding Peace (Routledge, 2014) and Home: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Career

Fox studied for a Bachelor of Arts at

visiting positions at the University of New England and the Australian National University. He was, in 1996, the University of Tasmania's James Martineau Memorial Lecturer. In addition to teaching at Queen's, he was the editor of Queen's Quarterly for a decade.[1][2]

Fox's first

animal experimentation.[4] In The Case for Animal Experimentation, Fox argues that, in many cases, invasive animal testing is ethically justifiable, and that the ethical challenges to it can be overcome. He also explores a number of experiments that have received particular criticism from critics, including some addressed by Singer. Much of the book is given over to an explanation and exploration of the place of animal testing in science. Despite his defence of animal testing, Fox closes the book with a series of recommendations for how the system could be improved. The book was widely reviewed,[5][6][7][8][9][10] and a paperback edition was released in 1988.[11]

Less than a year after the book's initial publication, Fox found himself "in radical disagreement with some of its major theses".[12] Fox published a paper in Between the Species retracting his arguments and offering a case against animal experimentation, describing The Case for Animal Experimentation as "an embarrassment" to him. Quoting his own words on human superiority, he wrote that he "now look[s] at these arrogant remarks with dismay". He reported that critical reviews and the comments of a personal friend had been able to awaken him from "dogmatic slumber" about human duties to animals.[4] Years later, Fox published a paper in Organization & Environment entitled "The Case Against Animal Experimentation", representing the "reversal of the view [he] once defended". This paper analysed and supplemented Joan Dunayer's critique of animal testing.[13]

After retracting his arguments in The Case for Animal Experimentation, Fox went on to author Deep Vegetarianism with Temple University Press in 1999.[14] In this book, Fox presents arguments in favour of vegetarianism, exploring its cultural and historical background and linking it with other progressive movements, especially feminist movements.[15][16][17]

In 2005, the same year as his retirement from Queen's, Fox published The Accessible Hegel, an introduction to the thought of

Very Short Introduction series.[24][25]

Select bibliography

In addition to his books, Fox has published over 20 book chapters, over 40

peer reviewed journal articles, over 40 book reviews and a range of other popular, academic and technical works.[2]

  • Fox, Michael Allen, ed. (1980). Schopenhauer: His Philosophical Achievement. Brighton, England: Harvester Press; Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes & Noble.
  • Fox, Michael Allen, and Leo Groarke, eds. (1985). Nuclear War: Philosophical Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang.
  • Fox, Michael Allen (1986). The Case for Animal Experimentation: An Evolutionary and Ethical Perspective. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
  • Fox, Michael Allen (1999). Deep Vegetarianism. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press.
  • Fox, Michael Allen (2005). The Accessible Hegel. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books.
  • Fox, Michael Allen (2009). The Remarkable Existentialists. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books.
  • Fox, Michael Allen (2013). Understanding Peace. London: Routledge.
  • Fox, Michael Allen (2016). Home: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

References

  1. ^ "Michael Fox". Queen's University. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Professor Michael Fox". University of New England. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011.
  3. ^ Fox, Michael A. (1986). The Case for Animal Experimentation. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
  4. ^ a b Fox, Michael Allen (1987). "Animal experimentation: A philosopher's changing views". Between the Species 3 (2): 55–60, 75, 80, 82.
  5. ^ Cartmill, Matt (1986). "Animal rights and wrongs". Natural History. 95 (7): 66–9.
  6. Quarterly Review of Biology
    61 (4): 526–528.
  7. JAMA
    . 256 (8): 1054–5.
  8. Trends in Neurosciences
    . 10 (2): 97.
  9. Trends in Biochemical Sciences
    . 11 (10): 411–2.
  10. ^ Burke, Robert and Jerrold Tannenbaum (1986). "The ethics of animal research: Two views". The Scientist. 1 (1): 19–20, 22.
  11. ^ Fox, Michael A. (1988). The Case for Animal Experimentation. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
  12. ^ Fox, Michael Allen (1986). "Author reverses views on animal rights". The Scientist 1 (3).
  13. ^ Fox, Michael (2000). "The case against animal experimentation: Comments on Dunayer's 'in the name of science'". Organization & Environment. 13 (4): 463–7.
  14. ^ Fox, Michael Allen (1999). Deep Vegetarianism. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press.
  15. ^ Lockie, Stewart, Jen Hayward, and Nell Salem (2002). "Book reviews". Agriculture and Human Values 19 (4): 361–3.
  16. ^ Goering, Sara (1999). "Michael Allen Fox, Deep Vegetarianism". Ethics 111 (3): 632–4.
  17. ^ Philbrow, Anne (2000). "Michael Allen Fox, Deep Vegetarianism". Philosophy in Review 20 (2): 103–5.
  18. ^ Fox, Michael Allen (2005). The Accessible Hegel. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books.
  19. ^ Bates, Jennifer (2007). "Michael Allen Fox, The Accessible Hegel". Philosophy in Review 27 (1). Open access icon
  20. ^ Fox, Michael Allen (2009). The Remarkable Existentialists. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books.
  21. ^ Fairfield, Paul (2010). "Michael Allen Fox, The Remarkable Existentialists". Philosophy in Review 30 (1). Open access icon
  22. ^ Fox, Michael Allen (2013). Understanding Peace. London: Routledge.
  23. ^ Harris, Ian (2015). "Matthew Allen Fox. Understanding Peace: A Comprehensive Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2014." Peace & Change 40 (2): 276–8.
  24. ^ Fox, Michael Allen (2016). Home: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  25. ^ "New book by Michael Fox". Queen's University. Retrieved 27 December 2016.

External links