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It is silly to pose the question where the choice involves a random human and your own pet. Every day, almost every pet owner, basically makes that choice-in favor of the pet, since he knows he could sell it to a laboratory and use the money to save a third world country starving child.
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Andy Fox's friend Dennis Prager has often asked and posted
the exact question I asked Matt.. **
Your counter-example isn't realistic or analogous. There's no shortage of animals passed over as pets available for research. So a laboratory wouldn't fork over significant money to buy your pet; it would be far easier to raise money in another way if you wanted to use it to save a child in Africa (or anywhere).
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Of course if the scenario was such that he had to look the human in the eye, many pet owners might reluctantly save that human. But it wouldn't be because they thought it was the moral choice. It would be simply out of selfishness. They would be afraid that choosing the animal might haunt them down the road.
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If they had a religious upbringing (regardless of their current level of faith) they would likely save the human because religion generally makes it clear that human life is more sacred.
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Here is a better question. If you could save either Koko or an elderly, moderately retarded, institutionalized individual, who would you choose?
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It's another question, not a better question. I'd save
Koko given I now know that he or she is a world class gorilla and the elderly retarded person doesn't have much time or quality of life left.
But in my original question it's the pet you love versus an unknown human. The human could be a young Hitler, Barry Greenstein about to go on a tournament hot streak, a stumbling every day guy like me, or someone random.
~ Rick
PS ** As an aside I was hoping the question would also be raised in
this email debate with Sam Harris but alas it wasn't. I do think Sam Harris (a very moral non-believer) is quite convincing and wonder what choice he would make had Dennis asked the question.
PPS Not sure it was discussed in
Dennis's YouTube discussion with Christopher Hitchens. I'll try to listen tomorrow.