From: Erik Moeller (flagg@oberberg-online.de)
Date: Wed Apr 22 1998 - 15:19:35 MDT
>Erik Moeller wrote:
>>Do humans do anything without gaining some kind of "utility" from it?
>
>You're right, we almost never do; but some people (such as animal rights
>activists) think that we should out of moral obligation, and to that end
>pass laws which restrict the utility of others. This, I argue, is a bad
idea.
But even those who think that we should pass animal right laws out of moral
obligation usually think they gain a utility from doing that. Getting closer
to god, better Karma or just a good conscience.
The question is only where you draw the line. I would say animal rights must
be respected where the ability to store and process information is
significant. Apes and dolphins are good examples. But if you want animal
rights for dogs, why shouldn't you want rights for insects as well? Just
because they're harder to see?
Erik Moeller
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 14:48:57 MST