Dick in the Dock Part 10: No species is an island, well actually every spicics is.

Dawkins spends yet another chapter demonstrating why atheists cannot be moral. And as usual it gets back to the lack of moral absolutes. For example, Dawkins does not think there is anything wrong with abortion. This is because he supposes it is all about developed central nervous systems. And after all numerous vertebrates with as developed a central nervous system as a six week old human fetus are killed every day by humans for more or less uncritical reasons*. Of course if we were to take this central nervous system argument seriously, it could be argued either way. One could just as easily say that these animals have as developed a central nerves system as a six-week-old human fetus and should therefor be protected. But the point is that arguing from something analog such as central nervous system development can never bring one to a meaningful moral determination. A newly conceived zygote may be no more biologically sophisticated than a carrot, which just about every body concedes would be acceptable for me to eat. Yet Prof. Dawkins would no doubt take offence if I regarded him in the same manner. But can he give any definite point that distinguishes “us” from “them”? Many of his ilk like to use natural birth, but if he is using central nervous system development as his distinguishing principle, this event is inconsequential.
What then does separate us from our lunch? Well if we are to be moral about it, we must have a definite principle to apply, that is to say, an absolute. And the only real absolute available to us in this matter is the species. Either an organism is able to mate and produce fertile offspring with me or they are not. Some may argue that this is actually not as absolute a standard as it appears, on account of so called “link specimens” (linking two otherwise separate groups by being able to mate with both) but if such specimens exist then the so-called “linked” species would in fact be one species. And there would still be a definite point where the links became extinct and the groups became separate species. However, nature does not seem to be much in favor of such links. Most organisms live in well contained yet internally integrated species, particularly of importance to us – our own, since all organisms out side our species are equally not us. Lest there be any objections from the LGM, this is not to say that we should necessarily view all organisms outside our species as lunch, but rather that we should view no member of our own species as expendable.


*One could consider eating critical, but sense other food sources are often available; I would have to consider it not quite.