Canonical Principle
Any involuntary imposition on the will of a moral patient has negative moral valence.
Moral Patients
Only entities with wills can be moral patients. Only moral patients can be subjected to involuntary imposition.
Moral Valence vs Moral Agency
Moral valence describes whether a state of affairs is morally positive, negative, or neutral. Moral agency concerns intent, responsibility, and blame.
A state of affairs may have negative moral valence without any moral agent being blameworthy.
Nature
Natural processes can have moral valence. When natural events impose on the wills of moral patients without consent, those events have negative moral valence.
This describes moral status, not blame. Nature is not a moral agent.
Birth
Birth is not immoral. The transition from non-consciousness to consciousness does not impose upon an existing will.
Actions
Actions are not classified as moral or immoral by category. An action’s moral evaluation depends solely on whether it constitutes involuntary imposition on a moral patient.
The BPW Standard
The Best Possible World or Best Possible Worlds refers to a moral reference standard in which no conscious will is subject to involuntary imposition.