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Broadening the future of value account of the wrongness of killing
1University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. eziodinucci@sund.ku.dk.
Abstract:
On Don Marquis's future of value account of the wrongness of killing, 'what makes it wrong to kill those individuals we all believe it is wrong to kill, is that killing them deprives them of their future of value'. Marquis has recently argued for a narrow interpretation of his future of value account of the wrongness of killing and against the broad interpretation that I had put forward in response to Carson Strong. In this article I argue that the narrow view is problematic because it violates some basic principles of equality and because it allows for some of the very killing that Marquis sets out to condemn; further, I argue that the chief reason why Marquis chooses the narrow view over the broad view-namely that the broad view would take the killing of some non-human animals to be also wrong-should rather be considered a welcome upshot of the broad view.
Insights
This article critiques Don Marquis's narrow interpretation of the future of value account of killing. It argues the narrow view violates equality and permits wrongful killing, while the broad view is preferable.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Moral Philosophy
Background:
- Don Marquis's future of value account posits that killing is wrong because it deprives individuals of their future of value.
- Marquis recently proposed a narrow interpretation of this account, diverging from a previously suggested broad interpretation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate Marquis's narrow interpretation of the future of value account.
- To demonstrate the limitations of the narrow view and advocate for the broad interpretation.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical argumentation and critical analysis of ethical theories.
- Examination of the implications of both narrow and broad interpretations of Marquis's account.
Main Results:
- The narrow interpretation violates fundamental principles of equality.
- The narrow view fails to condemn certain acts of killing it was intended to prohibit.
- The broad interpretation's consequence of condemning non-human animal killing is presented as a positive outcome.
Conclusions:
- Marquis's narrow future of value account is philosophically unsound due to its implications for equality and its failure to adequately condemn killing.
- The broad interpretation of the future of value account offers a more robust and ethically consistent framework for understanding the wrongness of killing.