Sorry I’m late to comment here, and I’m aware you’ve written a lot on this topic. But I think this post would benefit from an explanation as to why you’re using neuron counts as a proxy for the importance of the animal’s welfare.
As far as I’m aware, neuron count is not considered to be a good proxy or indicator of sentience, nor does it seem to be a good proxy for the intensity of experience (I’m not even aware of any good reason for assuming a difference in welfare range between sentient species, although I’m aware that this position is commonly held). Regarding the simple question of whether they’re sentient, wouldn’t it make more sense to base this on current evidence for sentience, or reasonable assumptions about what evidence future sentience research might produce, given the characteristics of these species?
Sorry I’m late to comment here, and I’m aware you’ve written a lot on this topic. But I think this post would benefit from an explanation as to why you’re using neuron counts as a proxy for the importance of the animal’s welfare.
As far as I’m aware, neuron count is not considered to be a good proxy or indicator of sentience, nor does it seem to be a good proxy for the intensity of experience (I’m not even aware of any good reason for assuming a difference in welfare range between sentient species, although I’m aware that this position is commonly held). Regarding the simple question of whether they’re sentient, wouldn’t it make more sense to base this on current evidence for sentience, or reasonable assumptions about what evidence future sentience research might produce, given the characteristics of these species?