Meaning of the Quote From the Given Article, Coursework Example

“The basic point here is that the desires a thing can have are limited by the concepts it possesses. For the fundamental way of describing a given desire is as a desire that a certain proposition be true.” (Tooley, 27)

The discussion referred to in this quote talks about an argument that has been discussed earlier in the article. An entity’s right to something, “A has a right to X” (Tooley). The author has just applied the concept of the right to life.

A having a right to X implies that entity A desires X. Applying the concept of the right to life, the desire of one entity to live is akin to the desire to possess the memories and experiences in a lifetime. According to Tooley, the expression ‘right to life’ is a sad expression, and this is because there are possible ways this right can be violated. He goes on to relate this thought of the freedom to natural life to an entity desiring to continue to exist as a focus of experiences. Therefore everyone else has a responsibility to avoid impeding them from undertaking it.

After introducing the concept of the right to life, the writer then makes the above statement. This means that their inherent concepts limit the entity’s desire to do something. For instance, in the given analogy of a person/entity’s freedom to the existence, an individual cannot urge to animate as a “subject of experiences and other mental states” (Tooley) if they do not agree with or believe and possess these concepts. The individual has to believe that they are these subjects and entities first. It is also necessary that an entity understand the propositions revolving around the concepts, for instance, the idea of living as a subject of the experiences and/or other mental states. Understanding the concepts will make the individual determine the truth of a given proposition hence desiring a thing (Tooley). Therefore, Tooley suggests that it is imperative to understand the concepts and propositions involved in the desire.

References

Michael Tooley. Abortion and Infanticide.