This doesn’t seem very useful. All well and good to declare that lots of animals might have “conscious experience”, but without a way to define “conscious experience” or having any way to compare the value of the “conscious experience” of different animals, where does it get us?
I worry that this is just abstract philosophical noise that distracts from productive efforts like developing alternative proteins, exposing and lobbying against the cruelty of factory farming, and eliminating the poverty and desperation that underlies a lot of the global indifference to animal suffering.
I think it is valuable to have this stuff on record. If it isn’t recorded anywhere, then anyone who wants to reference this position in another academic work—even if it is the consensus within a field—is left presenting it in a way that makes it look like their personal opinion.
A very common common counterargument to improving the lots of various animals is that the animals aren’t conscious. A letter signed by experts seems useful in debunking, or at least casting doubt, on such counterarguments. You are right to point out that this doesn’t solve the difficult problem of comparing welfare or rights between species, but it’s still a very important step.
Why would this be a distraction even if not very significant? Seems one could sign the letter and argue for the position while doing all the things you like.
This doesn’t seem very useful. All well and good to declare that lots of animals might have “conscious experience”, but without a way to define “conscious experience” or having any way to compare the value of the “conscious experience” of different animals, where does it get us?
I worry that this is just abstract philosophical noise that distracts from productive efforts like developing alternative proteins, exposing and lobbying against the cruelty of factory farming, and eliminating the poverty and desperation that underlies a lot of the global indifference to animal suffering.
I think it is valuable to have this stuff on record. If it isn’t recorded anywhere, then anyone who wants to reference this position in another academic work—even if it is the consensus within a field—is left presenting it in a way that makes it look like their personal opinion.
A very common common counterargument to improving the lots of various animals is that the animals aren’t conscious. A letter signed by experts seems useful in debunking, or at least casting doubt, on such counterarguments. You are right to point out that this doesn’t solve the difficult problem of comparing welfare or rights between species, but it’s still a very important step.
Why would this be a distraction even if not very significant? Seems one could sign the letter and argue for the position while doing all the things you like.