A common mistake
Many people say: "What happens in nature, like hunger, disease, and predation, isn't an ethical issue, because nobody is to blame. Not nature, and not the animals."
The author points out two mistakes in this idea.
Mistake 1: the contradiction
Many people say both of these things at once:
- "this isn't an ethical issue";
- "we have a duty not to help these animals."
But saying we have a duty not to help is already an ethical claim! The two statements contradict each other.
And even someone who says helping would be optional is doing ethics, because ethics is about not only what is required and forbidden, but also what is allowed.
Mistake 2: blame isn't what matters
Nobody has to be to blame for suffering to be bad. When a flood hits a town, nobody is to blame for the rain. Still, helping the victims is clearly an ethical issue.
Ethics doesn't only ask "whose fault is it?" It also asks "what should we do about it?"
In short
- Saying "we shouldn't help" is already an ethical position.
- Ethics deals with what is required, forbidden, and allowed.
- Nobody has to be to blame for suffering to deserve help.