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JoshuaZ comments on Don't ban chimp testing - Less Wrong Discussion
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This is a nice rule in principle, but in practice becomes tough. First, how do we define sentience? Second, what constitutes don't harm? Is there an action/in-action distinction here? If is it morally unacceptable to let humans in the developing world starve do we have a similar moral obligation to chimps? If not, why not?
I'm not sure what you are talking about here. Can you expand?
Oh in practice it's definitely tough. Optimal morality is tough. I judge myself and other individuals on the efforts they've made to improve from the status quo, not on how far they fall short of what they might hypothetically be able to accomplish with infinite computing power.
In my ideal world, suffering doesn't happen, period, except to the degree that some amount of suffering is necessary bring about certain kinds of happiness. (i.e. everyone, animals included, gets exactly as much as they need, nothing more.
I don't know to what extent that's actually possible without accidentally wreaking havoc on the ecosystem and causing all kinds of problems, and in the meantime it's easier to get public support for helping other humans anyway.
I'm working from old memories from middle school, and referencing what is probably a bit of a "folk version" of the real thing, but my recollection was that Edward Jenner tested his smallpox vaccine on some kid, then gave the kid a full dose of smallpox without his consent.
SOMEBODY had to try that at some point, and I think Jenner had reasonable evidence, but I don't think that sort of thing would fly today.
I agree it wouldn't pass muster today, but that may just be because we aren't facing a disease as deadly as smallpox.
There's a good moral case for experimenting on somebody without their consent IF: 1) Doing the experiment has a high probability of getting a cure into widespread use quickly 2) Getting consent for an equivalent experiment would be difficult or time-consuming 3) The disease is prevalent and serious enough that a delay to find a consenting subject is a bigger harm than the involuntary experiment.
Agreed.