In "the Most Dangerous Game" why does the author include the philosophical discussion between Whitney and Rainsford at the beginning of the...

The discussion help establish theme, and foreshadows some of what Rainsford will experience on the island. As a hunter, Rainsford is very calloused toward his prey. He doesn't consider what effect being hunted has on the animal, because he assumes that animals have no feeling or real awareness of what is happening to them. This sets the stage for the dehumanizing of Rainsford on the island. Even though he experiences what it is like to be on the hunted side of the game, the ending leaves the assumption that he has only grown more cynical and calloused toward hunting, even if the prey is a rational, thinking, feeling human.