Who will speak for animals and plants?Should a human?

Philosophy

The multi-trillion USD synthetic biology revolution, primarily driven by the empirical essence of science, reduces plants and animals to meaningless lumps of matter that can be 'done better' by a company.

How can empirical science possibly provide argumentative resistance for the claim that plant life is meaningless? How can empirical science possibly formulate a reason for morality?

In science the inability to define the meaning of life has resulted in an ideal to abolish morality.

(2018) Immoral advances: Is science out of control? To many scientists, moral objections to their work are not valid: science, by definition, is morally neutral, so any moral judgement on it simply reflects scientific illiteracy. Source: New Scientist

Philosophical arguments by the founder of GMODebate.org

A flawed idea (a dogma) – the idea that the facts of science are valid without philosophy, or a belief in uniformitarianism – lays at the root of synthetic biology or “eugenics on nature”.

When it concerns a practice that profoundly disrupts the foundation of Nature and human life, it can be an argument that caution is required before the practice is started and that letting it 'run dumb' by companies with a short term profit motive is not responsible.

Reprogramming nature (synthetic biology) is extremely convoluted, having evolved with no intention or guidance.

Synthetic biology in The Economist (Redesigning Life, April 6th, 2019)

The idea that plants and animals are meaningless bundles of matter is not plausible for diverse reasons.

If plants and animals are to posses of meaningful experience then they are to be considered meaningful within a context that can be denoted as 'vitality of Nature' or Nature's bigger whole (Gaia Philosophy), of which the human is a part and of which the human intends to be a prosperous part.

From that perspective, a base level of respect (morality) may be essential for Nature to prosper.

Vitality of nature – the foundation of human life – is a motive to question the validity of eugenics on nature before it is practiced. A purposeful Natural environment and food source may be a stronger foundation for humanity.

An attempt to stand above life, as being life, logically results in a figurative stone that sinks in the ocean of time. The principle of eugenics resides on the essence of inbreeding of which it is known that it causes fatal problems.

For more arguments, see the report about eugenics on nature (GMO):Eugenics on nature (GMO)

© New York Times“Can plants talk?“

Morality

A scientist with a heart is respected by many people in society and can have an effect on culture, but why? Does empirical science support her efficiency for cultural change? Where does 'heart' originate from?

Can a plant be 'done'? Can empirical science answer that question? Can empirical science study the essence of a plant?

Philosophy is essential if the goal is to improve the moral status of plants and to provide a theoretical capacity to protect Nature.

An example:

Philosopher: Plants are sentient beings that should be treated with respect His claim that a plant is a sentient “intelligent, social, complex being” has been contested by some biologists, but a stronger reaction has come from animal-rights activists and vegans who fear their cause is undermined by extending a duty of respect to plants. Source: Irish Times | Book: Plant-Thinking: A Philosophy of Vegetal Life | michaelmarder.org (professor)

♀️ Women

Females have been structurally excluded from philosophy, which may help explain why advancements in morality and ethics on behalf of animals and Nature is lacking. Women have been thought throughout history that their place is not in philosophy.

“While there have been women philosophers since the earliest times, and a few were accepted as philosophers during their lives, almost no woman philosophers have entered the philosophical Western canon. Only in the past 25 years there has been a small change with the emergence of feminist philosophy.

Source: Wikipedia: Women in philosophy

When structural discouragement is embedded in philosophy's history, women may avoid the study of philosophy for the purpose of self-protection, perhaps because they want to prevent being obligated to assume a feminist warrior mindset and become en-strangled in politics.

A search for women in philosophy pictures results in the following as the first result on some websites, such as istockphoto.com:

Women may have key strengths that can be of vital importance for the future of humanity, which may require philosophy to unlock that potential. The lack of women in philosophy may have resulted in serious problems with intellectual evolution of human kind.

When males dominate philosophy, it may be logical that women remain structurally dominated by males in many other areas of humanity.

Manly animal ethics:“animals have no mind, torture them all you want“

Philosopher René Descartes – “the father of modern philosophy” – argued that animals have no mind and that it is OK to torture them for one's amusement. René Descartes would torture and dissect animals in his lectures, asserting over their cries of pain, that these cries were merely automatic reactions.

The influence of philosopher René Descartes on animal welfare lasts until today.

When women participated in philosophy, would the world be better? Would animals be treated better? Would there be better understanding of why it is important to have respect for Nature?

Females and morality

The correlation between females and morality exists since ancient history.

Lady Justice is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.

The origin of Lady Justice was Justitia, the goddess of Justice within Roman mythology. The personification of justice balancing the scales dates back to the goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt.

In ancient Egyptian religion, Ma'at is the Goddess of Truth, Wisdom, Justice and Morality. She represented leadership, philosophy and law.

Discussion: “females in philosophy”

1. Philosophy Now magazine: https://forum.philosophynow.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=33671
2. Online Philosophy Club: https://onlinephilosophyclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17558

Females may offer valuable perspectives that males may not be as inclined to see. The fact that gods and sages are typically identified as 'male', shows how out-of-balance we are, and demonstrates a major skewing by males for control and domination.

When males dominate philosophy, it may be logical that women remain structurally dominated by males in many other areas of humanity.

Science

Big Pharma becomes Big Biotech for multi-trillion USD growth

In 2019, the pharmaceutical industry was already investing more than $1 trillion USD per year in synthetic biology ($1,000 billion USD per year). The pharmaceutical industry has been funneling their money to GMO.

With humans, the pharmaceutical industry had to endure a certain scrutiny. Severe fraud and corruption still happened but there was a level of oversight.

Despite the scrutiny when working with humans, the corruption for financial motives went far. Some time ago it was revealed that the publisher of The Lancet (Elsevier) published 6 fake scientific journals for pharmaceutical companies, to mislead scientists and doctors in the financial interest of companies.

Reputational damage for medical publisher Elsevier, which publishes The Lancet, among others. Last week the Dutch-English company admitted that from 2000 to 2005 it had published six fake journals that were issued for scientific journals. In reality, they were marketing magazines paid for by pharmaceutical companies. The papers published in Australia had names such as Australasian Journal of General Practice and Australasian Journal of Bone & Joint Medicine. The magazines look solid, also because the name Elsevier is prominent on the front page and the sponsor's name is not.

Companies serve a short term financial profit motive with a simple mindset: “if you don't do it, another company will. Either take a billion USD extra or lose the fight to survive.“.

Unleashed on plants and animals

With medicine, humans are involved and there are pretty strong ethical forces at play.

What if companies are let on the loose for a synthetic biology revolution? The potential for damage may be much greater as there will logically be less control and oversight.

Making money on disease creates an incentive to promote disease with chronic disease as the ideal situation.

With their massive often ill gotten funds, the pharmaceutical industry invests into Biotechnology to secure further growth, directly affecting billions of plants and animals on earth, of creatures that may posses of meaningful experience.

The origin of the synthetic biology industry may be corruption for a large part.

Origin of life unknown

👽 Where are the aliens?

Most people in the modern world view life as something that is owned on an individual level, as something that can be taken with one during space travel. Popular films such as Star Trek and Star Wars have displayed a future in which humans travel through space.

Some scientists are wondering however: why is the Solar system and Earth not crowded with alien visitors? Why, after decades of space science, has no hint been found for the existence of extraterrestrial life?

Philosophy suppressed

The post–World War II era is considered to be an 'anti-philosophy' era in which philosophy was increasingly placed on a level comparable with that of religions. In a sense, while science originates from philosophy, science has attempted to overcome philosophy and intended to rid itself of any influence of philosophy, which includes morality.

In 2021 the founder of GMODebate.org discovered that the farthest distance that an animal, insect or bacteria had travelled in space was the Moon and meanwhile trillions of USD were already invested for a manned mission to Mars in 2030.

Science it's dogmatic influence on behalf of determinism, the ground upon which science envisions itself to become master of the Universe, has resulted in a such a repression that it was never considered that Earth life may be bound to a region around the 🌞 Sun.

Philosophy naturally would have posed the following questions:

1. Is there at least one clue that Earth life is independent from the Solar system?
2. On what basis is it valid to consider that life is like a biochemical fire that can be taken with one during space travel?

Based on these questions, the first thing to test would be whether Earth life can remain alive further away from Earth. Yet, as of 2021 it was never tested because mainstream science intends to steer to a perspective in which life is a deterministic biochemical process and consciousness an illusion.

When life would be bound to a region around a star, it could explain why the Universe is not crowded with alien activity.

Because the origin of life is unknown, it is evident that science intends to use atheism fueled neglect – the stubbornly ignoring of the question 'why' life exists – as ground for a synthetic biology revolution in which animal and plant life is rendered meaningless beyond the scope of empirical value.