It seems to me that a great many problems that we humans have come from this type of moral 'arrogance?'. That is, assuming ourselves to be the most important moral agents on this planet and disregarding the preferences of any other beings. It's easy to ignore whichever being is right there in front of you, and conjure up a story about how you are doing a more important thing somewhere else. But actually, that specific being is the only agent you can reasonably have any hope of morally impacting at that moment in time.
It seems to me that a great many problems that we humans have come from this type of moral 'arrogance?'. That is, assuming ourselves to be the most important moral agents on this planet and disregarding the preferences of any other beings. It's easy to ignore whichever being is right there in front of you, and conjure up a story about how you are doing a more important thing somewhere else. But actually, that specific being is the only agent you can reasonably have any hope of morally impacting at that moment in time.
E.g., this type of attitude... (read more)