I’ve often thought about this, and this is the conclusion I’ve reached.
There would need to be some criteria that separates morality from immorality. Given that, consciousness (ie self-modelling) seems like the best criteria given our current knowledge. Obviously, there are gaps (like the comatose patient you mention), but we currently do not have a better metric to latch on to.
Why wouldn’t the ability to suffer be the criterion? Isn’t that built into the concept if sentience? “Sentient” literally means “having senses” but is often used as a synonym for “moral patient”.
I’ve often thought about this, and this is the conclusion I’ve reached.
There would need to be some criteria that separates morality from immorality. Given that, consciousness (ie self-modelling) seems like the best criteria given our current knowledge. Obviously, there are gaps (like the comatose patient you mention), but we currently do not have a better metric to latch on to.
Why wouldn’t the ability to suffer be the criterion? Isn’t that built into the concept if sentience? “Sentient” literally means “having senses” but is often used as a synonym for “moral patient”.