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The Dimensions of Harm

Author(s): Dariusz Gzyra
Subject(s): Ethics / Practical Philosophy, Social Philosophy
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: harm; sentientism; ethical extensionism; social norm
Summary/Abstract: The article examines the multifaceted phenomenon of harm, considered both as an individual experience rooted in sentience and as a social construct. The discussion is structured in three sections: the status of the harmed (which beings are capable of being harmed), the harm itself (what constitutes and is perceived as harm), and the harmer (who inflicts harm and who is regarded as responsible). Drawing on insights from the political turn in animal studies, the article emphasizes the necessity of a broad conceptualization of harm. It highlights the possibility of harm caused by omission and explores both subjective and objectified dimensions of harm, with particular attention to ethical extensionism as a strategy for granting moral status. The analysis also addresses the problem of unexperienced harm, including the taking of life, as well as societal responses to the harm of nonhuman sentients (such as pro-animal abolitionism), supported by relevant statistical data.

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