So now the virus exists (in a lab) that if let out of the lab could wipe us out (I mean humans). This is eerily like the plot of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (remake), 12 Monkeys, Contagion, and a host of other sci-fi flicks where humanity is wiped out (or nearly wiped out) by a virus. Not an unlikely scenario. The upside is that it would be a great boon for the rest of the animals on this planet (see the documentary The World Without Us). They would regain an ecological foothold lost due to relentless habitat destruction. The worst of the sixth great mass extinction of species on Earth would be averted by the elimination of the one species that is causing it. The downside is that there would be an unfathomable amount of human suffering as the plague wipes us out, and all the good that we are would be snuffed out along with the bad. However, we are steadily heading in that direction anyway (biocide and fall of civilization), due to anthropogenic climate change and finite resource depletion. If I were a non-speciesist utilitarian (like Peter Singer) I would say the elimination of humanity is the greatest good for the greatest number of sentient beings, since they outnumber us. But as I am a deontologist and also believe in the rights of all sentient beings (including humans), I feel very conflicted about that scenario, and hope that humanity will smarten up vis-a-vis climate change before its too late. That is the better option, by far. But as a realist, I fear we are not going to do it in time. And as an idealist I hope that we will. But then as someone concerned with preventing the mass extinction, there is part of me that would welcome the end of our species, if we prove irredeemable. The key is this: will we redeem ourselves and voluntarily move away from fossil fuel use and factory farming and militarism, etc. in time? If not, maybe the Earth is better off without us. The chance that the virus will escape seems remote, but even if it does not H1N1 is mutating in the bodies of factory farmed pigs right now, and it may mutate and evolve into that super-lethal strain without us. Thoughts?
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 03:44:05 +0000
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