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Inverse View
It is not the case that Humans who lack current rational capacities still possess the species-typical nature that grounds dignity, making capacity-based exclusion a category error.
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Reasons For
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1.
Species-membership alone cannot ground duties; we lack strong obligations to all sentient beings, suggesting capacity matters for moral standing.
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2.
If dignity requires no capacities, it becomes explanatorily inert—we cannot justify why humans merit different treatment than rocks or bacteria.
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3.
Actual moral practice ties protections to interests (autonomy, suffering avoidance), not membership; this mirrors capacity-dependence, not refutes it.
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Reasons Against
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Reason against
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1.
Dignity grounded in species-membership is intrinsic and inalienable, not contingent on exercise of capacities that vary across individuals.
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2.
Rational capacities exist on a continuum; using them as dignity markers creates arbitrary thresholds excluding some typical humans unfairly.
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3.
We attribute moral status to sleeping, comatose, or cognitively disabled humans—suggesting capacity-exercise isn't actually our operative standard.
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