As is often the case lately, I really enjoyed a recent blog post by the philosopher Justin E.H. Smith. He’s a talented writer and addresses novel topics in a creative way. His posted is entitled: “The Moral Status of Rocks.” He recounts an annecdote of a visit to Iceland and a woman saying that in Iceland, one doesn’t simply smash rocks for smashing’s sake. This is an interesting thought.
He finds his way to discussing things as disparate as vegetarianism and abortion. One lengthy, insightful quote:
Even smashing a mere chunk of solidified lava –evidently purely passive, and homoeomerous from one end to the other– can be experienced as a transgression by the person who is properly sensitized, for whom the chunk shows up as salient within her ethically charged environment. Are fetuses morally relevant? Yes, they are. So are chunks of lava. Does that mean you mustn’t destroy them? Not necessarily, but you shouldn’t suppose that the way to gain license to destroy them, whether this license is conceived cosmically, socially, or individually, is to produce arguments that cut them off from the sphere of moral relevance.
He uses the word “homoeomerous” – I’d never seen it before. Finally, he seeks out a new (really, very old) way of characterizing our space, which resonates with me despite my atheism.
There are souls, gods, ancestors (whatever!) all around us; they are in evidence in the structure and cohesion of nature; and it is a transgression against them to needlessly violate this structure and cohesion.
