Reference no: EM13519801

Does future generations have moral standing?

I'm trying to write an essay about us having obligations to future generations and I would like to start by introducing the idea that future generations have moral standings like us, as they will inevitably come into existence and will possess equal rights as us, but the criteria of moral standings are proposed as 1) the entity in question must have structural and functional parts that enable it to persist in an environment as unified self regulating whole, 2) mut be capable of being harmed, and 3) mus possess capacity or characteristcs by virtue of which it can be considered to be worthy of moral consideration in its own right. Thus, would it wrong to define future generations having moral standing? How should I introduce future generations as moral agents when they clearly don't exist yet but will exist later (unless there is a terrible catastrophe like nuclear war that wipes out the human population)...?