Jasz
Member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2007
- Messages
- 276
- MBTI Type
- INTP
- Enneagram
- 5w4
I'm interested in those who branched upwards beyond humans. I am interested how this would play out in priority.
For example, let's say there was a fire in a building, and you could save either a dog you knew and liked, or you could save a human baby. Which one would you save? (if your "in group" goes beyond humans, you should be willing to save the dog you had more connections to, since you have no personal ties to the child.)
Or with science research, with animals being experimented upon in order to implement some great disease cure that would save thousands or even millions of lives. (which, actually, most of our our modern medicine I think was built upon.) Is this immoral? Again, if your group encompasses all animals, human beings have no special significance and are actually committing genocide. Do you think it would be moral to avoid using all medicine and many scientific discoveries for your own benefit in today's day and age, because it was built upon the pain and suffering of innocent animals whom you consider part of your "tribe"? And morally one should not favor part of your tribe (humans) over another (animals).. otherwise your tribe is actually the smaller group you favor.
I am not passing a moral judgment, I am curious to see how consistently one's self-identification with a particular in-group is actually carried out. Are we really part of the in-groups we think we are, or do we behave (in situations where we must prioritize) an inclination to still favor humans who we might not necessarily have a personal tie with?
(If so, then I wouldn't consider the "in" crowd to go beyond human beings.)
thanks jennifer. these matters are what keep bringing me back to all humans as my maximum in-group. i would not hesitate for a second between the child and the dog and i do favor animal testing if that can bring about a cure for human suffering. obviously, in both cases, these are "least-worst" options under the circumstances.
i look forward to responses from the beyond-human-in-group folks!