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token-black-dude t1_j5q5vvj wrote

Reply to comment by Skarr87 in On Whether “Personhood” is a Normative or Descriptive Concept by ADefiniteDescription

> I believe my treatment of other organisms should be determined by that organism’s capacity to suffer from whatever action I am taking against it and whether that action is necessary.

I don't think this a reasonable or practical perspective. I care more about one of my kids scraping his knee, than the death of a starving child on the other side of the world, and even if they do not admit it when asked, so does everybody else, who do nothing while our society perpetuates a situation where we let starving children die. We as a society are certainly not treating people or animals according to their capacity for suffering.

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tjscobbie t1_j5sth8z wrote

You care more because evolution has saddled you with a half-baked, if any, morality. The whole reason we do philosophy and have these discussions is to transcend what we arbitrarily feel.

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Peacedude95 t1_j5suz43 wrote

This really highlights the problem with a utilitarian approach to morality. It is not practically possible to even measure the suffering of every person influenced by a single choice. We tend to restrict the individuals we consider when making a moral choic3 to make it manageable

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