What things does this influential rationalist think about? You'd be amazed. Here's his thoughts on early years: "It's a simple fact that a three-year-old human has pretty much the same self-awareness, rationality and capacity to feel pain as an adult ape. So they should be given equal moral consideration."
People who aren't world-renowned philosophers might object to this. They may think it odd to call that comparison a simple fact. They might regard the notion that entitlement to moral consideration is earned by self-awareness and rationality as selective and arguable.
But where does the philosophising lead? If we give the same moral consideration to adult apes as to three-year-olds, how do we, morally speaking, regard toddlers of 18 months? And where does it leave babies?
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