DISCUSSION:
Response to the following in 600 words each discussion :
1. Singer and Equality
Singer reasons for what he calls the "basic principle of equality". What is this principle and how is it supposed to be applied? What reasoning does he give that this principle should be applied to non-human animals? Do you agree? On what basis do you think we should determine which types of beings should be treated with equal moral consideration?
2. What is "the good"?
Utilitarianism is based on the notion of bringing about the greatest good, which requires some conception of what "the good" is such that this can be identified, measured, and calculated in a way that is consistent across time, place, and people. Is there any such "good" that has these characteristics? What does Mill identify as the good, and does it have these characteristics? What about Singer? What good does he seem to be referring to and does it have these characteristics? What implications would there be if we can't identify a good of the sort that the utilitarian seems to need?