The Future Of The World Depends On

The Only Justifiable Stopping Place For For The Expansion Of Altruism Is The Point At Which All Whose Welfare Can Be Affected By Our Actions Are Included Within The Circle Of Altruism. This Means That All Beings With The Capacity To Feel Pleasure Or Pain Should Be Included; We Can Improve Their Welfare By Increasing Their Pleasures And Diminishing Their Pains.

That's A Central Part Of Philosophy, Of Ethics. What Do I Owe To Strangers? What Do I Owe To My Family? What Is It To Live A Good Life? Those Are Questions Which We Face As Individuals.

The Problem Is Not With The Athletes, But With Us. No Matter How Blatant The Drug Use May Be, We Don't Stop Watching The Tour De France. Maybe We Should Just Turn Off The Television And Get On Our Own Bikes.

I'm Not Overly Alarmist About It, But I Do Think There Are Some Worrying Signs, Like The Growing Accumulation Of Wealth By A Very Small Proportion Of The Population, Plus Elections In The Us Are Much More Dominated By Money Than Anywhere Else Calling Itself A Democracy.

Suppose I Grant That Pigs And Dogs Are Self-aware To Some Degree, And Do Have Thoughts About Things In The Future. That Would Provide Some Reason For Thinking It Intrinsically Wrong To Kill Them - Not Absolutely Wrong, But Perhaps Quite A Serious Wrong. Still, There Are Other Animals - Chickens Maybe, Or Fish - Who Can Feel Pain But Don't Have Any Self-awareness Or Capacity For Thinking About The Future. For Those Animals, You Haven't Given Me Any Reason Why Painless Killing Would Be Wrong, If Other Animals Take Their Place And Lead An Equally Good Life.