Conatus: REVISED EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

C O N A T U S

The value behind Kant’s rule of treating others as ends rather than means is that humans have intrinsic worth — worth in and of ourselves — not simply extrinsic or utilitarian value. Likewise, behind the systems of utilitarianism and virtue ethics mentioned above, there are key values that are often just assumed, but not made explicit. Freedom, equity and fairness might be considered key values for most systems. We might add, the sacredness and sanctity of human life (from Kant above) the sacredness of nature and, humility, empathy, compassion, integrity, truthfulness, love. Also, some things are just considered not simply wrong but actually profane in themselves, thus the opposite of sacred.

So, quite apart from the various theories of ethics and morality we’ve been considering, it seems necessary to also allow for the wider reach of ideas that we have about what makes something right and wrong. The sacred is just one example of the way we find meaning in the world, and the way this might impact on how we organise our morality. Extending the ‘moral community’ is a way of including animals and plants and sometimes whole eco-systems, rivers, seas and other natural features in our law-making. It is assuming a moral status for nature, and even an intrinsic worth, if not actually a sacredness. It is difficult even to think of us ever being able to treat everything in purely instrumental terms — there’s always some kind of valuing going on and the human tendency to honour and sacrifice for particular things suggests a sense of the sacred will always be with us.

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