http://www.strike-the-root.com/4/graham/graham1.html
"Why is it morally wrong to torture an infant? Is it because she has the 'potential to become a moral agent'? Be honest about this. Isn't it really because the infant can suffer and has an interest in not suffering? Isn't it because forcing the infant to suffer against his will violates the nonaggression principle?
Why is it immoral to use a victim of Alzheimer's for target practice? It is because he is 'a member of a species whose normal members can think conceptually and can be held responsible for their actions'? Surely not. It's because he can suffer, he has an interest in not suffering, and to treat him this way against his will goes against the nonaggression principle.
But all of this also holds true for a monkey. Like a 'marginal' human, the monkey can suffer. He has an interest in not suffering. To force him to die and suffer, except in self-defense, violates the nonaggression principle. It's a simple matter of treating like cases alike. Pure categorical logic."
"Why is it morally wrong to torture an infant? Is it because she has the 'potential to become a moral agent'? Be honest about this. Isn't it really because the infant can suffer and has an interest in not suffering? Isn't it because forcing the infant to suffer against his will violates the nonaggression principle?
Why is it immoral to use a victim of Alzheimer's for target practice? It is because he is 'a member of a species whose normal members can think conceptually and can be held responsible for their actions'? Surely not. It's because he can suffer, he has an interest in not suffering, and to treat him this way against his will goes against the nonaggression principle.
But all of this also holds true for a monkey. Like a 'marginal' human, the monkey can suffer. He has an interest in not suffering. To force him to die and suffer, except in self-defense, violates the nonaggression principle. It's a simple matter of treating like cases alike. Pure categorical logic."