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The problem with such an argument (imagine that you're born as...) is that it presupposes an arbitrary line based on the limits of your imagination. You could
by esotericn 8y ago
The problem with such an argument (imagine that you're born as...) is that it presupposes an arbitrary line based on the limits of your imagination.
You could just as well be born a farm animal, or a blade of grass.
Absurd? Perhaps. It's no more absurd to me than attempting to imagine being born as a Frenchman.
- cuillevel3 8y agoHuman rights apply to farm animals now? :)
- Johnny555 8y agoIt's just as easy to imagine yourself living as a blade of grass as it is living as another human? The line between humans and other species doesn't seem that arbitrary.
- pas 8y agoYou don't have to imagine. You have to consider for fairness. This argument is usually attributed to Rawls. He wrote extensively about it in his A Theory of Justice (1971).
- jabl 8y ago> This argument is usually attributed to Rawls. He wrote extensively about it in his A Theory of Justice (1971). Bingo! I didn't mention it in my original comment, partially because I was interested if anyone would spot it. (And partially because it wasn't per se relevant to the argument itself)