Thanks. :) I’m uncertain how accurate or robust the 2.3/1.5 comparison was, but you’re right to cite that. And you’re right that human land-use changes (including changes to forest area) likely have big effects of some kind on total arthropod welfare.
also about the sign of the welfare of arthropods
Makes sense. I have almost no uncertainty about that because I measure welfare in a suffering-focused way, according to which extreme pain is vastly more important than positive experiences. I suspect that a lot of variation in opinions on this question come down to how suffering-focused or happiness-focused one’s values are, rather than empirical disagreements, though it’s also true that we lack a lot of empirical information about how invertebrates perceive and value various good and bad events.
It seems that most people agree that factory-farmed pigs and battery-cage hens have net negative welfare, so I guess there could be some possible empirical information that would persuade most people to take one or the other side of the issue. However, there’s disagreement about whether, e.g., factory-farmed beef and dairy cows have net negative or positive welfare. That seems to mostly be a difference in moral values.
Thanks. :) I’m uncertain how accurate or robust the 2.3/1.5 comparison was, but you’re right to cite that. And you’re right that human land-use changes (including changes to forest area) likely have big effects of some kind on total arthropod welfare.
Makes sense. I have almost no uncertainty about that because I measure welfare in a suffering-focused way, according to which extreme pain is vastly more important than positive experiences. I suspect that a lot of variation in opinions on this question come down to how suffering-focused or happiness-focused one’s values are, rather than empirical disagreements, though it’s also true that we lack a lot of empirical information about how invertebrates perceive and value various good and bad events.
It seems that most people agree that factory-farmed pigs and battery-cage hens have net negative welfare, so I guess there could be some possible empirical information that would persuade most people to take one or the other side of the issue. However, there’s disagreement about whether, e.g., factory-farmed beef and dairy cows have net negative or positive welfare. That seems to mostly be a difference in moral values.