(October 18, 2018 at 7:18 pm)Dr H Wrote: How is that self-evident?
The flourishing of, say, Rickettsia prowazekii or Vibrio cholerae anywhere in my vicinity is decidedly NOT good by my standards.
YMMV.
I guess that depends on what your standards are.
Living things come in conflict. The thriving of saber-tooth tigers maybe was not compatible with that of cavemen. Negotiations are largely ethical questions. How much are we justified in killing in order to encourage our own flourishing?
People used to say that morals were based on "human flourishing," but I think we've learned to be less self-centered.
And we should consider carefully our reasons. If we dislike some living things purely for aesthetic reasons or personal preference, I suspect that modern ethics will encourage us to re-think that.
But I see your point: certain examples are easy to agree on.
