Basically, this is a variant on the argument from marginal cases; infants don’t differ from relatively intelligent nonhuman animals in capabilities, so they ought to have the same moral status. If it’s okay to euthanize your dog, it should also be okay to euthanize your newborn.
(The most common use of the argument from marginal cases is to argue that animals deserve greater moral consideration, and not that some humans deserve less, but one man’s modus ponens is another man’s modus tollens.)
(The most common use of the argument from marginal cases is to argue that animals deserve greater moral consideration, and not that some humans deserve less, but one man’s modus ponens is another man’s modus tollens.)
Cerca 1792 after Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Women a philosopher name Thomas Taylor published a reductio ad absurdum/ parody entitled A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes which basically took Wollstonecrafts arguments for more gender equality and replaced women with animals. It reads more or less like an animal rights pamphlet written by Peter Singer.
Professor Mordin Solus solves marginal cases by refusing to experiment on any species with at least one member capable of Calculus, which is a bit different from criticism, “argument from species normality.”
That sounds like a reasonable conclusion—compared to an intelligence capable enough of introspection and planning to make a friendly AI, the overwhelming majority of my actions arise purely from unreasoning instinct.
Any species with at least one member who has demonstrated to humans the capability of doing calculus as per human notions of “doing calculus”.
I don’t remember the source, but I read a fiction somewhere in which an alien observed a few children playing catch. The alien commented on how impressed it was that they could do such sophisticated calculations so quickly at such a young age.
Your parenthetical comment is the funniest thing I’ve read all day! The contrast with the seriousness of subject matter is exquisite. (You’re of course right about the marginal cases thing too.)
(The most common use of the argument from marginal cases is to argue that animals deserve greater moral consideration, and not that some humans deserve less, but one man’s modus ponens is another man’s modus tollens.)
This is a hand, this is an inviolate right to life...
Basically, this is a variant on the argument from marginal cases; infants don’t differ from relatively intelligent nonhuman animals in capabilities, so they ought to have the same moral status. If it’s okay to euthanize your dog, it should also be okay to euthanize your newborn.
(The most common use of the argument from marginal cases is to argue that animals deserve greater moral consideration, and not that some humans deserve less, but one man’s modus ponens is another man’s modus tollens.)
Cerca 1792 after Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Women a philosopher name Thomas Taylor published a reductio ad absurdum/ parody entitled A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes which basically took Wollstonecrafts arguments for more gender equality and replaced women with animals. It reads more or less like an animal rights pamphlet written by Peter Singer.
Professor Mordin Solus solves marginal cases by refusing to experiment on any species with at least one member capable of Calculus, which is a bit different from criticism, “argument from species normality.”
Any species with at least one member who has demonstrated to humans the capability of Calculus.
So it’s perfectly acceptable to use a time machine to gather your experimental subjects from before the 17th century.
Also, once a human solves the problem of friendly AI, aliens will stop abducting us and accept us as moral agents.
That sounds like a reasonable conclusion—compared to an intelligence capable enough of introspection and planning to make a friendly AI, the overwhelming majority of my actions arise purely from unreasoning instinct.
Any species with at least one member who has demonstrated to humans the capability of doing calculus as per human notions of “doing calculus”.
I don’t remember the source, but I read a fiction somewhere in which an alien observed a few children playing catch. The alien commented on how impressed it was that they could do such sophisticated calculations so quickly at such a young age.
Your parenthetical comment is the funniest thing I’ve read all day! The contrast with the seriousness of subject matter is exquisite. (You’re of course right about the marginal cases thing too.)
This is a hand, this is an inviolate right to life...