There are, however, countervailing considerations. While it’s true that sophisticated cognitive abilities sometimes amplify the magnitude of pain and pleasure, those same abilities can also act to suppress the intensity of pain and pleasure.[35] When I go to the doctor for a painful procedure, I know why I’m there. I know that the procedure is worth the pain, and perhaps most importantly, I know that the pain is temporary. When my dog goes to the vet for a painful procedure, she doesn’t know why she’s there or whether the procedure is worth the pain, and she has no idea how long the pain will last.[36] It seems intuitively clear that in this case superior cognitive ability reduces rather than amplifies the painful experience.[37]
Anecdotally, I basically started on my journey towards EA because I read something like this in the case of children hospitalized for chronic illness, from the textbook Health Psychology by Shelley E. Taylor:
Although many children adjust to these radical changes in their lives, some do not. Children suffering from chronic illness exhibit a variety of behavioral problems, including rebellion and withdrawal (Alati et al., 2005). They may suffer low self-esteem, either because they believe that the chronic illness is a punishment for bad behavior or because they feel cheated because their peers are healthy.
Maybe this also highlights another side to moral status about why many humans care more about children: vulnerability and innocence (maybe more naivety than lack of guilt).
Anecdotally, I basically started on my journey towards EA because I read something like this in the case of children hospitalized for chronic illness, from the textbook Health Psychology by Shelley E. Taylor:
Maybe this also highlights another side to moral status about why many humans care more about children: vulnerability and innocence (maybe more naivety than lack of guilt).