 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
We are thus led to the question of partial and general goods which was discussed in an earlier chapter, and are led, by the arguments given in that chapter, to the conclusion that the only way to secure objectivity in the meaning of “ought” is to enlarge our herd until it embraces all human beings, or, better perhaps, everything sentient. In this way, and in this way only, can we insure that what A says B ought to do does not depend upon who A is.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 10：Is there ethical knowledge ?
More info.: https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-1009.htm
* a brief comment:
A generalisation of this argument is that it is good to get into the habit of thinking of any problem not as the problem of a group or a region, but of extending its scope (group or region) to the whole of humanity (or all sentient and conscious beings).
Translating ‘sentient’ as ‘capable of perception’ may be misleading. It might be better to translate it as ‘conscious’ (being). It is inconceivable that a robot would self-reflect and commit suicide because of the difference between itself and a flesh-and-blood human being. In other words, it is not part of ‘everything sentient’.
In the book ‘Sentient Machines - The Moral Dilemma of Creating Conscious Robots’ (see attached image), the following explanation is given:’ The word ‘sentient’ seems to be understood differently by different people.
‘It delves deeply into the ethical, philosophical and technological aspects of creating conscious artificial intelligent life forms.’ This thought-provoking book explores the rapid advances in AI and robotics and raises serious questions about the nature of consciousness, the moral obligations of its creators and the potential social consequences of sentient machines.