Why Do Species Matter?

Arvin M. MontiverosMAT-SS

By Lilly-

Marlene Russow

Main Argument“We value and protect animals because of their aesthetic value, not because they are members of a given species.”“Our duties towards species arise not out of the interests of the species, but are rooted in the general obligation to preserve things of value.”

“Our obligations to species may in fact be obligations to individuals.”

Supporting Details•Some Test Cases

Case 1. The snail darter

Supporting DetailsCase 2. The Pére David deer

Supporting DetailsCase 3. The red wolf

Supporting DetailsCase 4. The Baltimore oriole and Bullock’s oriole

Bullock’s oriole

Baltimore oriole

Supporting DetailsCase 5. The Appaloosa

Supporting DetailsCase 6. Laboratory rats

Supporting DetailsCase 7. Mosquito

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Case 8. Zebra

• The lesson from this section is that “our concern is with the continued existence of individuals that may or may not have some distinctive characteristics.”

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• Some Traditional Answers to the question:

“Why do species matter?” or “Why do we have at least a prima facie duty not to cause a species to become extinct, and in some cases, a duty to try actively to preserve species?”

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• Some Traditional Answers (three groups of replies)

1. We have duties of “stewardship”.The job of a custodian is to protect that which has some value or worth.

The issue now is whether species have value, and why.

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2. Species have extrinsic value (instrumental value)

Anthropocentric versionoVanishing species are of concern to us because

their difficulties serve as warning that we have polluted or altered the environment in a way that is potentially dangerous or undesirable for us.

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2. Species have extrinsic value (instrumental value)

Ecocentric versionoBy destroying a single species, we upset the

balance of the whole system.oThe value of the species is determined by its

contribution to the whole.

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3. Species have intrinsic or inherent valueIf a species is intrinsically valuable, we should try

to preserve it even when it no longer has a place in the natural ecosystem, or when it could be replaced by another species that would occupy the same niche.

We should not ignore a species just because it serves no useful purpose.

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3. Species have intrinsic or inherent valueHowever, to say that something has an intrinsic

value does not tell us how much value it has.

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Aesthetic ValueThere are some species that are aesthetically

significant.So, those that do not have aesthetic significance

are not worth preserving.

- This application of aesthetic value has been misidentified – “What we value is the

existence of individuals with certain characteristics.”

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Valuing the IndividualThere are very few members of a species

(endangered species) – rarity and unexpectednessA desire that there be future opportunities to see

these things again

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Conclusion

• Individual animals can have aesthetic value: they are valued for their simple beauty, for their awesomeness, for their intriguing adaptation, for their rarity, and for many other reasons.•We have moral obligation to protect things of aesthetic value, and to ensure their continued existence.•We have a duty to protect individual animals and to ensure that there will continue to be animals of this sort.

Thank

you!