Good post and I basically agree, but worth mentioning that false negatives for moral patienthood seem generally worse than false positives. I can laugh at those who think rivers or forests are intrinsically worthy of care, but this type of failure isn't nearly as consequential as e.g., failing to consider nonhuman animals or future people
moral circle expansion doesn't need to have always been good or monotonic for it to have been a huge driver of positive progress and a place to look for future progress.
Good post and I basically agree, but worth mentioning that false negatives for moral patienthood seem generally worse than false positives. I can laugh at those who think rivers or forests are intrinsically worthy of care, but this type of failure isn't nearly as consequential as e.g., failing to consider nonhuman animals or future people
quick rough comment
moral circle expansion doesn't need to have always been good or monotonic for it to have been a huge driver of positive progress and a place to look for future progress.