If they are conscious they “chose” to do what they do. If not, they have not moral value.
The moralist question about what the mosquito chose while in surface is almost comical, points out to the serious problem of any extension of the moral circle to non reciprocating individuals.
In this case, it is totally unlikely the mosquito is conscious at all, but even if it is, how much should you accommodate its dangerous predation ?
There is no universal value -not even moral value- scale. Each person has his/her own. If the mosquitoes cannot chose/feel, they don’t have moral value for you. Other people may value life for its own sake.
I think I lean close to your values, giving moral value to whatever can feel. But this is mostly a rationalisation. I have no clue which animals or other living beings can feel and which don’t (and, even we are scientifically improving in this regard, we cannot really know, at least for now) and still, I give or not give moral value to living beings. In addition, what these living beings do to me or to others (in an absolutely broad sense of others), how they look, how they move, etc. affect my moral judgement, the moral value I give them.
But where I wanted to go: you are going way too fast to determine that mosquitoes cannot feel. What is the relation between being able to chose or not and being able feel? Is a carnivore like a lion able to chose not to eat other animals? Is it able to feel? I think the answers for the lion are clear and make your argument fail.
Both Lions and mosquitoes are enemies. As long as they are contained, I can tolerate them. Mosquitoes are not contained, so I want to nuke them from orbit.
In fact, my whole point is that while chosing is a very real concept, and it is important for ethical reasoning, we really don’t chose in the sense “I could have done otherwise” in this physicalist universe.
The fact that lions and mosquitoes can not change goes against them. The more determined is your hostility, more reasons I have to answer in kind.
Really I wanted to avoid goint into details (because I dont want to take insect sentience too seriously: that would be a defeat!), but this time is impossible:
I don’t follow you. When did I give personhood to mosquitos?
If they are conscious they “chose” to do what they do. If not, they have not moral value.
The moralist question about what the mosquito chose while in surface is almost comical, points out to the serious problem of any extension of the moral circle to non reciprocating individuals.
In this case, it is totally unlikely the mosquito is conscious at all, but even if it is, how much should you accommodate its dangerous predation ?
There is no universal value -not even moral value- scale. Each person has his/her own. If the mosquitoes cannot chose/feel, they don’t have moral value for you. Other people may value life for its own sake.
I think I lean close to your values, giving moral value to whatever can feel. But this is mostly a rationalisation. I have no clue which animals or other living beings can feel and which don’t (and, even we are scientifically improving in this regard, we cannot really know, at least for now) and still, I give or not give moral value to living beings. In addition, what these living beings do to me or to others (in an absolutely broad sense of others), how they look, how they move, etc. affect my moral judgement, the moral value I give them.
But where I wanted to go: you are going way too fast to determine that mosquitoes cannot feel. What is the relation between being able to chose or not and being able feel? Is a carnivore like a lion able to chose not to eat other animals? Is it able to feel? I think the answers for the lion are clear and make your argument fail.
Both Lions and mosquitoes are enemies. As long as they are contained, I can tolerate them. Mosquitoes are not contained, so I want to nuke them from orbit.
In fact, my whole point is that while chosing is a very real concept, and it is important for ethical reasoning, we really don’t chose in the sense “I could have done otherwise” in this physicalist universe.
The fact that lions and mosquitoes can not change goes against them. The more determined is your hostility, more reasons I have to answer in kind.
Really I wanted to avoid goint into details (because I dont want to take insect sentience too seriously: that would be a defeat!), but this time is impossible:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nY7oAdy5odfGqE7mQ/freedom-under-naturalistic-dualism
:-)
“Both Lions and mosquitoes are enemies” But enemies can have moral value! [Sorry, I haven’t read your LW post, yet]