ABSTRACT
Which beings matter morally? Why is it okay to step on a dried leaf just for the pleasure of the sound it makes but not okay to step on a toad for the same reason? This chapter introduces the concept of the moral community—the beings that matter morally—and explores hypotheses about what makes something a member of the moral community. It also grapples with speciesism, the idea that some beings are especially important (or unimportant, as the case may be) simply because of the biological category to which they belong. As we’ll see, it’s difficult to explain why species membership itself should matter.
