Against Frog Dissection

"This book offers a fresh and powerful new contribution to the animal dissection debate. Reframing dissection as a concrete material practice and the dead frog as technology, Rosenberger challenges dissection’s status as a teaching tool while highlighting the rich possibilities of alternatives. This is essential reading for those interested in science education, ethics, and pedagogy."

–Jan Oakley, Adjunct Faculty, Lakehead University, Canada

This open access book offers a provocative critique of the widespread classroom practice of frog dissection. Drawing from philosophy of technology and Science & Technology Studies (STS), Robert Rosenberger challenges the entrenched “dissection paradigm” that frames frog dissection as merely a hands-on encounter with nature and an educational ideal. He argues instead that the dead frog should be also understood as a mediating technology—an artifact shaped by social, ethical, and pedagogical forces. Rosenberger proposes a shift in thinking that not only strengthens ethical and environmental critiques but also reimagines the potential of simulation technologies. Written in an accessible style for both academic and activist audiences, this short book contributes a fresh materiality-based argument to the ongoing debate and opens new avenues for humane and innovative science education.

Robert Rosenberger is a Professor of Philosophy at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy. His books include Callous Objects: Designs Against the Homeless, and Distracted: A Philosophy of Cars and Phones.