I’m curious what example you’re thinking of in Descartes’s writings related to your listed complaints. I guess Kant and Smith made racist remarks but not in any characteristically “Enlightenment” way.
Yeah, the magnitude of the problem depends on the empirical question of how many people associate the Enlightenment with racism and such.
Descartes’ moral circle issue is that he believed animals have no moral standing whatsoever, so he enthusiastically practiced vivisection (dissecting animals while they were still alive).
Yes, and how many people we project will have this association in the future. I think it’s reasonably likely that this view will pick up steam among vaguely activisty people on college campuses in the next five years. That’s an important demographic for growing EA.
I don’t associate the Enlightenment with racism.
I’m curious what example you’re thinking of in Descartes’s writings related to your listed complaints. I guess Kant and Smith made racist remarks but not in any characteristically “Enlightenment” way.
Yeah, the magnitude of the problem depends on the empirical question of how many people associate the Enlightenment with racism and such.
Descartes’ moral circle issue is that he believed animals have no moral standing whatsoever, so he enthusiastically practiced vivisection (dissecting animals while they were still alive).
Yes, and how many people we project will have this association in the future. I think it’s reasonably likely that this view will pick up steam among vaguely activisty people on college campuses in the next five years. That’s an important demographic for growing EA.