ABSTRACT
Biocentrisis are criticized for being biased in favor of the human species, for basing their view on an ecology that is widely challenged, and for failing to reasonably distinguish the life that they claim has intrinsic value from the animate and inanimate things that they claim lack intrinsic value. This chapter shows how biocentrism can be defended against these three criticisms, thus permitting biocentrists to justifiably appropriate the salutation, “Let the life force (or better the ethical demands of life) be with you.” Biocentrists talk a lot about the equality of species, but when they turn to the practical applications of their view, time and time again, they show their bias in favor of the human species. In human ethics, there is no principle that is strictly analogous to the principle of preservation. A preference for oneself and the members of one’s own species, however, can also be justified on grounds of preservation.
