Like anything that moves, I believe in justice. I have no choice but to believe in justice. I see the world as a collection of discrete objects, each of which has properties that distinguish it. These properties have descriptive and directive meaning.* These properties point to the things I see and the actions I must take. I can only act justly, that is, according to relations of fitness between situations and actions.** These relations are manifest in what I learn to perceive and consequently to do. These relations are born from my desire to survive and reproduce.
Reflection helps me to see more clearly than I learned to see. Ordinary language and Catholicism taught me to view myself as an embodied soul. Further reflection led me to see myself simply as a member of the species homo sapeins. However, my ethics – first taught to me by family, church, and state – remain the same. I still believe in caring for my family and my community.
*Ruth Garrett Millikan
**Samuel Clarke