quote:
Most human beings are not trash. They're people.
Is there a reason for people not being trash?
...I don't believe we can find common ground on this, ochave. Your system of ethics is too different from mine. I value all human life, and devalue only those lives that cause catastrophic harm to the rest of us.
You seem to place a very low value on the majority of people.
quote:
They have hopes, dreams, opinions, feelings, philosophies
How is this relevant?
Is there logic and fact, rather than meaningless rhetoric, in support of this pov?
Value assessments (ie, person A is not trash, person B is trash, etc) are by their very nature subjective. There's nothing objective about the process.
All value of human life is arbitrary - we decide what we do and do not value. We decide what system of ethics to follow based on the convictions of our own consciences.
I am primarily a Utilitarian, and I view ethical distinctions in terms of net harm or benefit to society. I would consider only those individuals that cause overwhelming harm to society (Hitler, etc) to be "trash." Most people seem to cause no more or less harm or benefit than anyone else, including me. This causes me to value all human life equally...and in teh vast majority of cases I can no more call one person "trash" than I can call myself a "saint."
This ethical system appeals to my basic sense of fairness and empathy. It causes me to treat others in a way that I would prefer to be treated were our roles reversed. It causes me to be tolerant if not always accepting of other people's views and choices (ie, I may express disagreement or even revulsion at another person's beliefs, but I don't advocate banning opinions or religions simply because I strongly disagree with them).
I'm not sure what ethical system you use...but any structure that identifies most human beings as "trash" is repulsive to me, and that's all you've given me so far.