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It is inexcusable for scientists to torture animals; let them make their experiments on journalists and politicians.
Henrik Ibsen
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote criticizes the unethical treatment of animals in scientific research by suggesting that humans, particularly journalists and politicians, should be the subjects instead.

Henrik Ibsen's quote reflects a strong moral stance against the suffering of animals used in scientific experiments. It satirically proposes that if experimentation must occur, it should be directed towards those who hold power and shape public discourse, rather than innocent creatures. This highlights the ethical dilemmas in science and questions the justification of animal testing, urging society to reconsider the moral implications of such practices.

Themes

Animal RightsEthicsScienceExperimentationMorality

In practice

Example use cases

During a lecture on ethics in science, this quote can provoke discussion on animal testing.

More from Henrik Ibsen

Labor and trouble one can always get through alone, but it takes two to be glad.
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The majority never has right on its side. Never, I say! That is one of these social lies against which an independent, intelligent men must wage war. Who is it that constitute the majority of the population in a country? Is it the clever folk, or the stupid? I don't imagine you will dispute the fact that at present the stupid people are in an absolutely overwhelming majority all the world over.
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I believe that before anything else I'm a human being -- just as much as you are... or at any rate I shall try to become one. I know quite well that most people would agree with you, Torvald, and that you have warrant for it in books; but I can't be satisfied any longer with what most people say, and with what's in books. I must think things out for myself and try to understand them.
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Ah, I fancy it is just the same with most of what you call your emancipation. You have read yourself into a number of new ideas and opinions. You have got a sort of smattering of recent discoveries in various fields - discoveries that seem to overthrow certain principles which have hitherto been held impregnable and unassailable. But all this has only been a matter of intellect, Miss West - superficial acquisition. It has not passed into your blood.
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One should never put on one's best trousers to go out to fight for freedom.
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It's a liberation to know that an act of spontaneous courage is yet possible in this world. An act that has something of unconditional beauty.
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