[w_alloy]

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Therefore I consider the morally good option to be the one that gives the most people the most happiness (basic utilitarianism). Ending a life is thus bad in that it eliminated all future positive expereiences a particular individual can have (which is especially worrisome if you don't buy into an afterlife).

In making decisions about the validity of animal rights the important question for me is the level of cognition and abillity to perceive pain and pleasure in a way that is similarly meaningful to a human. Obviously I cannot generalize that my perceptions of pain and pleasure are felt in animals nearly as well as I can that they are felt in all humans. So for me the question is one of biology and a creature's rights are entitled to progressively more consideration as they are of higher intelligence.


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I like this (honsestly), I dont think I've ever heard a utilitarian argument including animals and scaling on intellgience and/or awareness. I've heard them seperately but never combined.

The fact you wish to scale on intelligence is common and interesting. How do you feel about mentaly retarded humans? Or people in long term (and probably permanent) commas? How about children? I'm guessing you will say that it is actually scaled for species and not individual orginisms. What is the basis for this, if you choose to make this argument? If you do not, there are certain non-human primated who are more intelligent in most regards then severely handicapped humans. Would you advocate giving these primates more "human rights" then the handicapped?

There is also the issue of your assumtion that life is valuable, which you half-heartedly try to pass off as a provable point in the last 2 sentances of your first paragraph. I'm not gonna go in-depth here but I really would like you to reconsider your logic here and consider that this might actually be an assumption you are making. For starters, look at the jumps from yourself to humanity and all living things as a whole.

Edit: I come off a bit douchebaggish in this last paragraph, I dont claim to know much more then you about this, I just want you to explain yourself in more detail so I can understand how you are making these seeming leaps.