Universität Wien

010102 SE Animal Ethics. Christian and Intercultural perspectives (2026S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 1 - Theologien und Religionswiss.
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle
We 27.05. 09:45-13:00 Seminarraum i1 (islam), Schenkenstraße 8-10, EG005

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

The lecture scheduled for Thursday, 27 May 2026, will be replaced by an alternative task available on the Moodle platform. This change is due to an unavoidable academic conference attended by the Institute together with doctoral students in Malta.

  • Wednesday 04.03. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum i1 (islam), Schenkenstraße 8-10, EG005
  • Wednesday 18.03. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum i1 (islam), Schenkenstraße 8-10, EG005
  • Wednesday 15.04. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum i1 (islam), Schenkenstraße 8-10, EG005
  • Wednesday 29.04. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum i1 (islam), Schenkenstraße 8-10, EG005
  • Wednesday 13.05. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum i1 (islam), Schenkenstraße 8-10, EG005
  • Wednesday 10.06. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum i1 (islam), Schenkenstraße 8-10, EG005
  • Wednesday 24.06. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum i1 (islam), Schenkenstraße 8-10, EG005

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This seminar explores Animal Ethics from Christian, intercultural, and interdisciplinary perspectives, integrating classical and contemporary approaches in law, ecology, anthropology, theology, biological sciences, philosophy, and psychology. Students critically engage with moral agency, moral status, and moral standing, including proto-morality theories, which argue that while nonhuman animals exhibit rudimentary features of human morality, they possess at least a minimal level of moral agency. Key conditions for moral agency include:
Language for forming propositional attitudes underlying moral judgment,
Reflective consciousness or an inner moral life,
Cognitive capacities for evaluating one’s behavior in relation to others.
The seminar also examines competing accounts of moral status, drawing on rationality, cognitive capacities, sentience, relationality, and theological anthropology, highlighting ethical obligations toward nonhuman animals.
Through collaborative readings, seminar discussions, and a reflective paper, students develop skills to critically analyse and constructively assess classical and contemporary ethical arguments in animal ethics.

Assessment and permitted materials

Regular active attendance with a reflective paper to be written at the end of the semester with approximately 30,000 characters (min. 10– max. 15 pages). Active participation includes mandatory attendance of at least 80% of the sessions, class presentation and regular reflective statements of the required readings to be uplaoded on Moodle. For the assessment of exam components, see “Type of performance assessment and permitted aids” and “Minimum requirements and assessment criteria”.
• Katholisch-Theologischen Fakultät, KI in der Lehre. URL: https://ssc-kaththeologie.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/s_ktf/2019/Im_Studium/Leitlinien_KI_der_KTF_Endfassung.pdf [Accessed 10.01.2026].
• Katholisch-Theologischen Fakultät, Leitlinien für wissenschaftliche Arbeiten. URL: https://ssc-kaththeologie.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/s_ktf/2019/Studienabschluss_HP_neu/Zitierrichtlinien.pdf [Accessed 10.01.2026].

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Student learning and retention will be evaluated primarily through one presentation and 5 reflective assignments on moodle (40% of the final grade) and a final seminar paper (60% of the final grade). The final grade will be based on the student’s overall and active sustained engagement throughout the course.
In the written work, students must demonstrate a clear understanding of fundamental concepts in ethics and the ability to systematically articulate and apply them. The final reflective paper must engage the central ethical questions of the course in a critical and reflective manner, addressing a selected theme in dialogue with the instructor and situating the analysis within contemporary ethical debates.
Students are expected to competently interpret and critically assess both classical and modern texts. The minimum requirement for successful completion of the course is a positive overall assessment.
Assignments are graded according to the five-point Austrian grading scale:
Sehr gut (1), Gut (2), Befriedigend (3), Genügend (4), Nicht genügend (5).

Examination topics

Assignments cover the required literature and material discussed throughout the semester, with particular attention to their application to contemporary debates in Animal Ethics. The final paper must be a personal, reflective, and critical engagement with current debates. If artificial intelligence tools are used during the preparation of the paper, all stages of use must be fully disclosed in an appendix, including the purpose and a complete list of prompts or commands. AI-generated content must not exceed 5% of the total submission. Failure to disclose AI use may result in the paper being treated as plagiarism by AI-detection tools.

Reading list

The course literature will be continuously updated, with specific page ranges clearly indicated. All required texts will be easily accessible, and only in exceptional cases will students be expected to purchase personal copies.
• BATES, A. W. H. – COLLINSON, A. – DUFFIELD, D. – FAVRE, D. – HEDERMAN, R., and LINZEY, C., Animal Ethics and Animal Law (1st ed), New York 2022.
• BEAUCHAMP, Tom L. and FREY, R. G, The Oxford Handbook of Animal Ethics, New York 2013.
• BUYONDO, Jude Thaddaeus, Holistic Bioethics, Eugene (Oregon) 2024.
• CAGNOLI, Fiecconi Elena, Ethics for Rational Animals: The Moral Psychology at the Basis of Aristotle’s Ethics, Oxford 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198886846.001.0001
• LINZEY, Andrew, Why animal suffering matters: philosophy, theology, and practical ethics, Oxford 2009. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199351848.001.0001
• MILLER, Daniel K., Animal ethics and theology: The lens of the Good Samaritan, New York 2012.
• PLUTARCH, Plutarch’s Three Treatises on Animals. A translation with introductions and commentary (translated by NEWYER Stephen T.), London and New York, 2021.
• PORPHYRY, Porphyry: On Abstinence from Killing Animals (translated by GILLIAN Clark from De abstinentia), London 2000.

Association in the course directory

für 011 (15W) FTH 17 oder FTH 25 oder FTH 26, 198 418 BA UF RK 16, 199 518 MA UF RK 02 oder RK 05, 033 195 (17W) BRP 18krp, BRP 18ktb, 795 [2] M3, M4, M5

Last modified: We 15.04.2026 15:05