PHIL 329 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Sentience
14 Mar 2016
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Future generations (humans, non-humans) have a contingent right not to be harmed. Ability to experience sensation - pain and pleasure. Desires for pleasure and to avoid pain. Steinbock: no sentience -> no right not to be harmed (4:00) Moral issues concerning the environment should focus on those beings who have interests - beings who are capable of being harmed: humans, non human animals - current ones and future generations. One explanation of wrongness (section: dead people) Destroying the tree would run contrary to the interests of the recently dead. The destruction of the tree doesn"t harm or benefit anyone. Assumption - desires don"t live past the desirer. No wrong being done - only an appearance of wrong. One who destroys tree has the vice of being destructive. Such an individual would destroy things out of feeling powerless. The one who would want the tree to survive would be considered as having the virtue of being nurturing.
