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From: garys@bunker.UUCP (Gary M. Samuelson)
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: animal vs human rights, morality
Message-ID: <694@bunker.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 29-Jan-85 12:04:54 EST
Article-I.D.: bunker.694
Posted: Tue Jan 29 12:04:54 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 31-Jan-85 01:28:11 EST
References: <232@usl.UUCP>
Organization: Bunker Ramo, Trumbull Ct
Lines: 37

> The only arguable difference between our species and the other animals on  the
> planet  is that of intelligence, but that is a difference of degree, not kind.

I disagree; I can certainly argue for the arguability of other differences.
E.g., only humans seem to be interested in moral questions.

> So, as you can see, I don't at all believe that our  intelligence  inherrently
> gives us a moral edge over the other creatures of the earth.

I agree.  As I have tried to point out before, if intelligence is
the criterion for humanity or rights, then the time will come when
someone has to decide which humans have the required level of intelligence.

> It's just not clear at all to
> me that our species is inherently better than any other.

If it is true, as I suggested above, that only humans ask questions
of the form, "Is action X moral?", then it would not really make
sense to say that our species is better than any other, in the
sense of moral superiority.  The fact that we seem to have a sense
of morality, even if it leads each of us to different conclusions,
means that we can be either good or bad, but a mouse (for example)
is neither good nor bad, it's just a mouse.

> All such ideas are,
> I  feel,  just  a form of prejudice resulting from our egocentricity.  So with
> reference to Andrew Koenig's (hope I got that right) "simple question," I cer-
> tainly  cannot see the difference (morally) between killing fetus' and killing
> [non-human] animals.

But, you (apparently; I may be reading too much into your article) do
see a difference between killing a fetus and killing a child (say, six
months after birth).  Why?  And, do you see a difference between
killing an animal and killing a plant?

Gary Samuelson
ittvax!bunker!garys