Of pelicans and prisoners: avian–human interactions in the Soviet Gulag

The Soviet penal system, commonly referred to by its Stalin-era acronym, Gulag, exposed millions to conditions of imprisonment from 1917 to 1991. Penal institutions were located throughout the Soviet Union, but were concentrated especially in remote and sparsely populated areas such as the Far North, Siberia, and the Kazakh steppe. They were typically camps instead of prisons, with inmates sleeping in communal barracks and performing labour at outdoor work sites. This arrangement brought inmates and their jailers in close contact with the natural world. The richly varied avifauna of the Soviet Union made a particular impression on residents of the Gulag. Administrators employed birds as part of their re-education programs, using them to inculcate in the inmates scientific literacy, but the interactions between inmates and birds were more diverse. Some inmates fed them while others ate them. Some found in birds powerful symbols of springtime, freedom, and home, while others saw them as harbingers of death. Birds were also used by gang members in the Gulag as status symbols tattooed onto their own bodies and the bodies of their victims. Ultimately, birds helped Gulag inmates negotiate and make sense of a world that often seemed devoid of meaning.     

Attitudes towards using animals in research and teaching: opinions from a selected group of female secondary school students

Abstract

This research provides details about a group of young New Zealand women's awareness of, interest in and attitudes towards the use of animals in scientific research and teaching. These findings were compared to a similar survey of the New Zealand public. An adapted, anonymous questionnaire was used to gather data from 90 young women (14–15 years) from an urban secondary school. While nearly half expressed concern about animal use in research (43%), their awareness was not consistent with the reality of animal research in New Zealand, either in terms of its impact on animals or animal species used. They were unconcerned about the use of animals in teaching and associated such use with enhanced learning. Justification for the use of animals in research and teaching was shown to be complex and contextualized, with an instrumental qualifier being used to justify their opinions. Even though many students were unaware of the regulations surrounding animal use in research and teaching, they were mistrustful that these regulations were being followed by scientists. Instead, their trust was placed in the SPCA and in veterinarians.     

基因工程中的伦理道德探析

基因工程作为生命科学的基本内容,给社会、人类带来的影响越来越明显.其积极作用是无容置疑的,但也带来伦理道德问题.本文侧重于从社会视角来探讨基因工程在生命、人的权利、生态等方面带来的伦理道德问题.其意义在于促进基因工程走上健康发展的轨道,以期与人类社会共同进步、共同发展.     

动物为主雪怨母题的文化阐释

中国古代动物复仇母题 ,屡屡展露着动物知恩图报。它们能机智地向恶人或其他恶的对象报仇雪恨。作为现实社会里浓烈的恩仇意绪一个别致的泛化折映 ,复仇与恩报所展示的人性之光和正义气概 ,在某些习见的动物身上得到奇特体现 ,这是以肯定的形式来强调人与动物亲和给人带来的益处 ,母题既是对远古集体无意识情结的重温回归 ,又是其印证升华。作为人类的亲族 ,灵畜报主故事深化了文学对人性的反思批判 ,拓展了复仇恩报模式的深刻寓意     

论动物法律主体资格的确立——人类中心主义法理念及其消解

从逻辑上讲,并非不能将法律人格赋予动物。动物权利的保护,不应作为客体保护,而应作为主体来保护。主体的产生,乃是根源于社会利益和权利保护的需要。而主体在形成后也在不断扩张,诉讼实践就是主体扩张的重要动因之一。文章从主体、法律主体、民事主体、诉讼主体而及动物,以动物的生命权为核心,力图确立动物的法律主体地位。通过对动物主体地位及动物权利的论证,对人类中心主义法理念予以解构。      

英美法的动物致害责任

动物致人损害是一种常见的侵权现象。其行为主体的特殊性决定了动物致害责任的归责原则和构成要件必然不同于一般的侵权责任。英美法系国家运用成文法与传统的普通法相结合的二元方法对动物侵权领域进行全面系统的规范,无论从内容上还是调整技术上讲都别具一格。文章对英美法上的动物致害责任,主要是危险动物责任,牲畜侵入责任以及动物侵权过失诉讼和妨害诉讼作了介绍与分析评价,并就如何完善我国的动物致害责任提出了建议。     

从动物名词在中英文化中引起的不同意象看文化移情

人类文化的多样性是研究跨文化交际的前提和基础,在跨文化交际实践中,通过文化移情这一中介,在不同的语言模式、文化模式和交际模式之间架起一座相互沟通和交流的桥梁,意义十分重要。某些动物名词在中英两种异质文化中会引发或相似、或不同的联想和文化意象,本文从这一视角论述文化移情在跨文化交际中的应用和适度原则。     

自然、技术与物种的可持续性 ——论《加拉帕戈斯群岛》的生态忧思

冯内古特的末世叙事小说《加拉帕戈斯群岛》巧妙地融合了现实与虚构的生态图景,以黑色幽默艺术风格与人文主义生存理念再现了当代西方政治经济体系下的生态模式。文章从人类对动物的利用与虐杀、资本对人类的辖制与人类的技术崇拜、人类社会多种因素引起的生命大规模毁灭等层面,反思西方社会20世纪下半叶生态恶化的多重根源;以动态的整体论的视角看待冯内古特的生态焦虑,指出人类与动物的跨物种联系、技科学(techno-science)对环境的影响以及生态环境的可持续性皆为人类未来存在与发展的关键因素。     

北宋天台宗的放生实践——以慈云遵式、四明知礼为中心的考察

放生是佛教慈悲济世精神与和谐共生理念的集中体现。中国佛教的放生实践与天台宗僧的推动密切相关，北宋初年天台宗代表人物慈云遵式、四明知礼利用与精英士大夫的交游，先后促成了将杭州西湖、四明南湖立为放生池的善举，开启了佛诞日放生为皇帝祝寿的先河，使放生活动逐渐扩展为一种政治传统与地方民俗。此外，遵式《放生慈济法门》、知礼《放生文》所制定的放生仪轨，也为后世的放生实践提供了较为规范的范本。     

《一切经音义》引《山海经》之神异动物——与毕沅校本异文比较

《一切经音义》援引《山海经》多次，其中有关神异动物之内容与毕沅校本相差较大。今选取14处异文，比勘毕沅校本，从文字、训诂、音韵入手，究明原解。