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You're not arguing that the line should be drawn somewhere else. You're arguing that there is no line. So let's take it all the way. What makes the life of a l
by seventhtiger 8y ago
You're not arguing that the line should be drawn somewhere else. You're arguing that there is no line.
So let's take it all the way. What makes the life of a lab mouse more valuable than the life of a single cell of yeast?
I think answers about awareness and capability just rationalize the fact that intuitively some life forms are more sympathetic to us than others. We will draw the line at some level of sympathy, but only as far as practicality allows us.
A human life is more valuable than the life of a lab mouse because a human is more sympathetic than a mouse and it is impractical to value lab mice highly. That's the only answer.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y agoAnd that's basically the same answer you'd get about slavery from a slave owner. I don't think it is a good argument.
- dTal 8y agoNevertheless, it's probably true. It's wishful thinking to hope that morality can be put on any firmer ground than "what humans intuitively feel, as a consequence of millions of years of ultimately self-centred evolution". The moment your more-perfect moral framework disagrees with intuition, it will be discarded.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y agoI find it difficult to respect that opinion, because it seems to me it is just an excuse not to try.