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Single Idea 20285

[filed under theme 25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 1. Basis of Rights ]

Full Idea

If to have a right one must have the ability to desire that to which one has a right, then to have a right to life one must be able to desire one's own continued existence.

Gist of Idea

If a right entails having the relevant desire, many creatures might have no right to life

Source

Peter Singer (Practical Ethics [1979], 07)

Book Ref

Singer,Peter: 'Practical Ethics' [CUP 1989], p.141

A Reaction

The unborn, small infants, and persons in comas may well lack the relevant desire (at least consciously - arguably even a plant has a non-conscious 'desire' or drive for life). The idea that a right entails a conscious desire seems daft.

Related Idea

Idea 4668 You can't have a right to something you can't desire, so a foetus has no 'right' to life [Glover]

The 16 ideas from Peter Singer

21993 Materialist history says we are subject to incomprehensible forces [Singer]
21997 In Marxism the state will be superseded [Singer]
20276 Conflict of rules might be avoided by greater complexity, or by a hierarchy of rules [Singer]
20278 'Marginal utility' says something is more useful if it is in short supply [Singer]
20277 Equality of interests is a minimal principle, not implying equal treatment [Singer]
20279 Equality of opportunity unfairly rewards those lucky enough to have great ability [Singer]
20281 Why should I do anything for posterity? What has posterity ever done for me? [Singer]
20282 The sanctity of a human life depends either on being of our species, or on being a person [Singer]
20283 Killing a chimp is worse than killing a human too defective to be a person [Singer]
20284 Why should a potential person have the rights of an actual person? [Singer]
20285 If a right entails having the relevant desire, many creatures might have no right to life [Singer]
20287 If 49% of the population can be wrong, so can 51% [Singer]
20286 Following an inner voice for morality is irresponsible in a rational agent [Singer]
20288 You can't condemn violent revolution without assessing the evils it prevents [Singer]
20290 Psychopaths may just be bored, because they cannot participate in normal emotional life [Singer]
20289 Ethics is universalisable - it must involve an impartial and universal view of things [Singer]