Thanks for the comment. The definition is meant to be neutral with respect to IIA.
The definition does assume that either S is identical across the relevant worlds or (as I mention in footnote 12) the subjects in the world stand in the counterpart relation to one another. Transworld identity is a notoriously difficult topic. I’m here assuming that there is some reasonable solution to the problem.
I’m not sure how much genetic change an individual can undergo whilst remaining the same individual. (I suspect lots, but intuitions seem to differ on this question.) As I mention in footnote 9, it’s also unclear how much genetic change an individual can undergo whilst remaining the same species.
Thanks! I wasn’t aware of transworld identity being a separate problem.
I’m not sure how much genetic change an individual can undergo whilst remaining the same individual. (I suspect lots, but intuitions seem to differ on this question.)
I doubt that there will be a satisfying answer here (especially in light of transworld identity), and I think this undermines the case for different degrees of moral status. If we want to allow morally relevant features to sometimes vary continuously without changing identity, then, imo, the only non-arbitrary lines to draw would be where a feature is completely absent in one but present in another. But, I think there are few features that are non-instrumentally morally relevant; indeed only welfare and welfare capacity on their own seem like they could be morally relevant. So, it seems this could only work if there are different kinds of welfare, like in objective list theories, or with higher and lower pleasures.
As I mention in footnote 9, it’s also unclear how much genetic change an individual can undergo whilst remaining the same species.
I think species isn’t fundamental anyway; its definition is fuzzy, and it’s speciesist to to refer to it non-instrumentally. It’s not implausible to me that, if identity works at all (which I doubt), that a pig in one world is identical to an individual who isn’t a pig in another world.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the comment. The definition is meant to be neutral with respect to IIA.
The definition does assume that either S is identical across the relevant worlds or (as I mention in footnote 12) the subjects in the world stand in the counterpart relation to one another. Transworld identity is a notoriously difficult topic. I’m here assuming that there is some reasonable solution to the problem.
I’m not sure how much genetic change an individual can undergo whilst remaining the same individual. (I suspect lots, but intuitions seem to differ on this question.) As I mention in footnote 9, it’s also unclear how much genetic change an individual can undergo whilst remaining the same species.
Thanks! I wasn’t aware of transworld identity being a separate problem.
I doubt that there will be a satisfying answer here (especially in light of transworld identity), and I think this undermines the case for different degrees of moral status. If we want to allow morally relevant features to sometimes vary continuously without changing identity, then, imo, the only non-arbitrary lines to draw would be where a feature is completely absent in one but present in another. But, I think there are few features that are non-instrumentally morally relevant; indeed only welfare and welfare capacity on their own seem like they could be morally relevant. So, it seems this could only work if there are different kinds of welfare, like in objective list theories, or with higher and lower pleasures.
I think species isn’t fundamental anyway; its definition is fuzzy, and it’s speciesist to to refer to it non-instrumentally. It’s not implausible to me that, if identity works at all (which I doubt), that a pig in one world is identical to an individual who isn’t a pig in another world.