Question

What 3 aspects/characteristics of human beings give them special moral worth or privileged positions In the moral community?

Answer 1

According to the philosopher Steinbeck,  all sentient beings have place in moral community and deserve to be taken into consideration. However she makes. Distinction between animal right as equal to humans’ . This is because of three key components which according to her make human beings morally disturbed not from other beings.

She emphasised on sentience, not intelligence or rights in understanding moral agency. For war,  rights are not involved in this discussion for animals cannot have rights, and thy are thus not moral agents unlike human beings. Thus, it’s their repsect for moral agency which make human beings as morally distinct beings. Other than a capacity to understand actions in terms of rights and privileges, human beings also possess intelligence which is a second significant condition. human being’s certain basic amount of intelligence gives them a position of privilege in the moral community. human beings are different from non-human animals in morally relevant ways as they show a desire for self-respect and Laos na understanding of the reciprocity principle in their interaction with others.

Lastly, she identifies compassion as what sets humans apart and justifies human speciesism. Human beings show the ability to sympathize and have compassion for other humans in a way which is not demonstrated by animals (always). All these factors contribute to the moral worth of human beings within the moral community.