You argued that a concept “isn’t fundamental”, because in principle it’s possible to construct things gradually escaping the current natural category, and therefore it’s morally unimportant. Can you give an example of a morally important category?
Sorry, but my moral valuations aren’t up for grabs. I’m not perfectly selfish, but neither am I perfectly altruistic; I care more about the welfare of agents more like me, and particularly about the welfare of agents who happen to remember having been me. That valuation has been drummed into my brain pretty thoroughly by evolution, and it may well survive in any extrapolation.
But at this point, I think we’ve passed the productive stage of this particular discussion.
My point isn’t that it’s a useless concept. It’s that it would be silly to consider it morally important.
You argued that a concept “isn’t fundamental”, because in principle it’s possible to construct things gradually escaping the current natural category, and therefore it’s morally unimportant. Can you give an example of a morally important category?
Sorry, but my moral valuations aren’t up for grabs. I’m not perfectly selfish, but neither am I perfectly altruistic; I care more about the welfare of agents more like me, and particularly about the welfare of agents who happen to remember having been me. That valuation has been drummed into my brain pretty thoroughly by evolution, and it may well survive in any extrapolation.
But at this point, I think we’ve passed the productive stage of this particular discussion.