3 ms·
I don't think he disagrees with the fact that parasites cause extreme suffering, nor that ending this suffering is a good thing. Rather, I think his point is t
by omginternets 9y ago
I don't think he disagrees with the fact that parasites cause extreme suffering, nor that ending this suffering is a good thing.
Rather, I think his point is that there's a hidden cost to the loss of biodiversity that ridding the world of parasites entails. Moreover, his point is that ethical analyses (such as the one you present) tend to minimize the extreme complexity of biological systems, and that therefore the conclusions of such analyses should be viewed suspiciously.
- njarboe 9y agoMost biological systems are complex adaptive systems and handle changes quite well. Killing off a few species of mosquitoes or parasites that only live in humans, is unlikely to upset any ecosystem in a major way. Plowing up all of the native grass land in the American Mid-West to grow corn or cutting down the Amazon rain forest to grow soybeans; these are the large scale wholesale destruction of the environment that people should be concerned about.
- omginternets 9y agoThat reads like a statement of faith. Show me the data.