Human-Caused Mass Extinction
Imagine talking with someone who does not consider current rates of human-caused extinction to be tragic because, they argue, “there are already MILLIONS of species,” or “extinctions have happened many times before,” or “those dying species aren’t humans,” … or whatever justification they offer.
What is the most compelling argument YOU can think of for why human-caused mass extinction is UNETHICAL?
Spend 5 minutes putting your response in writing – this will simply be used for course participation credit today, so I will *not* focus on the style or mechanics of your writing. I simply want to see you wrestling with tricky questions and implications, and digging deep into the existential crisis of what’s happening in this moment. What does it MEAN for humankind to be wiping out entire species of beings with which we share this planet? From a moral perspective, why is that such a big deal?
Remember: this is a philosophy class, NOT ecology or systems biology, so you should focus on why extinction is wrong from an ETHICAL point of view.
300 words
