How an Examination of the Nature and Fulfilment of Desires Can Inform an Understanding of the Moral Community in the Context of a Desire Satisfaction Theory

Abstract

This thesis aims to begin tackling a gap in the literature on the moral status of non-humans in desire theories of well-being. By examining the nature and fulfilment of ‘desires’, it considers the diversity of the moral community - concerning which kinds of beings are considered morally valued - in applications of desire satisfaction theory. The thesis begins with a broadened understanding of what ‘desires’ conceptually entail in a theory of well-being, followed by an analysis of the capacities required to desire, drawing from neuroscience and philosophy of mind. As a result, this thesis proposes a mode of conceptualising the moral community based on which kinds of beings have desires while recognising the limits of (human) research into non-human capabilities.