Thanks for the kind words about the project, Joel! Thanks too for these thoughtful and gracious comments.
1. I hear you re: the quantitative proxy model. I commissioned the research for that one specially because I thought it would be valuable. However, it was just so difficult to find information. To even begin making the calculations work, we had to semi-arbitrarily fill in a lot of information. Ultimately, we decided that there just wasn’t enough to go on.
2. My question about non-hedonist theories of welfare is always the same: just how much do non-hedonic goods and bads increase humans’ welfare range relative to animals’ welfare ranges? As you know, I think that even if hedonic goods and bads aren’t all of welfare, they’re a lot of it (as we argue here). But suppose you think that non-hedonic goods and bads increase humans’ welfare range 100x over all other animals. In many cost-effectiveness calculations, that would still make corporate campaigns look really good.
3. I appreciate your saying this. I should acknowledge that I’m not above motivated reasoning either, having spent a lot of the last 12 years working on animal-related issues. In my own defense, I’ve often been an animal-friendly critic of pro-animal arguments, so I think I’m reasonably well-placed to do this work. Still, we all need to be aware of our biases.
4. This is a very interesting result; thanks for sharing it. I’ve heard of others reaching the same conclusion, though I haven’t seen their models. If you’re willing, I’d love to see the calculations. But no pressure at all.
Thanks for the kind words about the project, Joel! Thanks too for these thoughtful and gracious comments.
1. I hear you re: the quantitative proxy model. I commissioned the research for that one specially because I thought it would be valuable. However, it was just so difficult to find information. To even begin making the calculations work, we had to semi-arbitrarily fill in a lot of information. Ultimately, we decided that there just wasn’t enough to go on.
2. My question about non-hedonist theories of welfare is always the same: just how much do non-hedonic goods and bads increase humans’ welfare range relative to animals’ welfare ranges? As you know, I think that even if hedonic goods and bads aren’t all of welfare, they’re a lot of it (as we argue here). But suppose you think that non-hedonic goods and bads increase humans’ welfare range 100x over all other animals. In many cost-effectiveness calculations, that would still make corporate campaigns look really good.
3. I appreciate your saying this. I should acknowledge that I’m not above motivated reasoning either, having spent a lot of the last 12 years working on animal-related issues. In my own defense, I’ve often been an animal-friendly critic of pro-animal arguments, so I think I’m reasonably well-placed to do this work. Still, we all need to be aware of our biases.
4. This is a very interesting result; thanks for sharing it. I’ve heard of others reaching the same conclusion, though I haven’t seen their models. If you’re willing, I’d love to see the calculations. But no pressure at all.