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An ant is drowning: here’s how to decide if you should save it | Aeon Essays

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is associate professor of environmental studies; affiliated professor of bioethics, medical ethics, philosophy, and law; director of the Center for Environmental and Animal Protection; director of the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy; and co-director of the Wild Animal Welfare Program at New York University. He is co-author of Chimpanzee Rights (2019) and Food, Animals, and the Environment (2019), and the author of Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves (2022) and The Moral Circle (2025). is a senior research fellow in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Oxford, UK. His research interests are primarily in moral and political philosophy. Edited byNigel Warburton Listen to this essay 23 minute listen You notice an ant struggling in a puddle of water. Their legs thrash as they fight to stay afloat. You could walk past, or you could take a moment to tip a leaf or a twig into the puddle, giving them a chance to climb out. The choice may feel trivial. And yet this small encounter, wh

You notice an ant struggling in a puddle of water. Their legs thrash as they fight to stay afloat. You could walk past, or you could take a moment to tip a leaf or a twig into the puddle, giving them a chance to climb out. The choice may feel trivial. And yet this small encounter, which resembles the ‘drowning child’ case from Peter Singer’s essay ‘Famine, Affluence, and Morality’ (1972), raises big questions. Are ants sentient – able to experience pleasure and pain? Do they deserve moral concern? Should you take a moment out of your day to help one out? Historically, people have had very…

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