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[quote user="Anonymous Coward"] That's a strawman argument based off the false premise that without monetary compensation people wouldn't lift a finger to save a kitten from a burning tree or whatever emotionally charged argument you wish to propose to show that libertarians are cold-hearted bastards and the only way to ensure benevolence
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[quote user="histhasthai"] You'll have to provide some argument why saving a life is different in principle from any other service, such as mowing a lawn. And repeating "but it's saving a LIFE", wouldn't be useful. [/quote] The principle at stake here is that an obligation should not be imposed on anyone without prior
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What I understand you to be saying is that the crucial test is whether the creature is either: 1) a conscious moral agent - i.e. (?) a creature that knows the difference between right and wrong (histhasal) 2) has a concept of rights (leonidia) 3) has the ability to reason like a human (leonidia) 4) has the capacity to claim freedom (BlackSheep) I find
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[quote user="liberty student"] Can I sue my rescuer if they save me, but I lose a limb? What if I die but they try to save me? Can my heirs sue them for compensation for failing to save me? [/quote] You miss my point. I am not advocating an obligation to save someone. Everyone is entitled to walk away when someone is in trouble. What I am
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[quote user="histhasthai"]I qualified it with "conscious, moral agent". [/quote] OK. When I build Frankenstein then I'll make sure he's a conscious, immoral agent. That way he remains my slave. I'll just program him not to turn on me.
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Markets works well because people are rational. They don't buy something from one shop if they can save a lot of money by buying it from the shop next door. It's not usually in their interests. But when it comes to a rescue, you turn around and rely on the fact that some people are irrational. They will risk their lives, even for no benefit
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[quote user="histhasthai"]Assuming "smart as a human" means "conscious, moral agent", for which the scenario in the last sentence would be defacto proof. You have no property rights as a creator of a consciousness, whether the raw material is DNA or silicon.[/quote] Does that also mean that a chimp who is born smart should
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[quote user="histhasthai"] If I show up at your house tomorrow while you are at work and mow your lawn, do you have to pay my hourly rate? Unsolicited services, of any kind, are charity - at best. Any compensation recieved for them is a gratuity. Except when government gets involved. [/quote] Well that sucks. What has mowing a lawn got to
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If a house is burning down and someone is inside unconscious, and I rescue her from certain death, but I suffer terrible burns, then does she have to pay my medical bills? If someone is drowning and I hire a helicopter to save her from certain death, then does she have to repay me for the hire of the helicopter?
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If I create a child out of my DNA and my labor, then I don't own it, right? If I make an android who is as smart as a human, then do I own it or not? If I genetically engineer a chimpanzee to be as smart as a human, then do I own it? What happens if the android or superchimp decides to work for someone else and pay its own way through the world