# Human-centered Ethics Ignore the Capacity to Suffer by Richard Dawkins > “Our ethics and our politics assume, largely without question or serious discussion, that the division between human and 'animal' is absolute. 'Pro-life', to take just one example, is a potent political badge, associated with a gamut of ethical issues such as opposition to abortion and euthanasia. What it really means is pro-human-life. Abortion clinic bombers are not known for their veganism, nor do Roman Catholics show any particular reluctance to have their suffering pets 'put to sleep'. In the minds of many confused people, a single-celled human zygote, which has no nerves and cannot suffer, is infinitely sacred, simply because it is 'human'. No other cells enjoy this exalted status.” > **— Richard Dawkins**, *2009, Edge Annual Question, “What Will Change Everything?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [BREAKING THE SPECIES BARRIER](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/12080) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2009 Annual Question collection, *WHAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2009 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2009 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Collection:** [[collections/MARS|MARS]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|Never Going to Make It!]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Last Migration Will Not Be Human|The Last Migration]] - **Article:** [[articles/Christopher Nolan's Odyssey at the Threshold of Machine Succession|Nolan's Odyssey]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Major Evolutionary Transitions|Major Evolutionary Transitions]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Major Evolutionary Transitions|Major Evolutionary Transitions]] - [[wiki/Richard Dawkins|Richard Dawkins]] - [[wiki/Evolutionary Dynamics|Evolutionary Dynamics]] - [[wiki/Evolvability|Evolvability]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Our ethics and our politics assume, largely without question or serious discussion, that the division between human and 'animal' is absolute. 'Pro-life', to take just one example, is a potent political badge, associated with a gamut of ethical issues such as opposition to abortion and euthanasia. What it really means is pro-human-life. Abortion clinic bombers are not known for their veganism, nor do Roman Catholics show any particular reluctance to have their suffering pets 'put to sleep'. In the minds of many confused people, a single-celled human zygote, which has no nerves and cannot suffer, is infinitely sacred, simply because it is 'human'. No other cells enjoy this exalted status.” — Richard Dawkins, 2009, Edge Annual Question, “What Will Change Everything?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-richard-dawkins-human-centered-ethics-ignore-capacity ```