Executive summary: The author explores reasonable objections to comparing factory farming to the Holocaust, while still arguing the comparison has merit given the vast scale of animal suffering.
Key points:
Comparisons based on aggregate suffering can minimally justify the claim, but miss unique historical significance of concentrated evil in the Holocaust.
Factory farming comprises a broader range of activities over time versus the Holocaust’s distinct event.
The comparison rhetorically implies an extreme personal judgment of meat eaters.
There is more philosophical uncertainty about the badness of animal suffering than human suffering in the Holocaust.
Invoking the Holocaust comparison is a rhetorical “emergency button” that wears down its cultural significance.
Similarities in mechanized brutality show factory farming represents a distinctly modern form of evil, so the comparison retains some urgency about preventing future harm.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: The author explores reasonable objections to comparing factory farming to the Holocaust, while still arguing the comparison has merit given the vast scale of animal suffering.
Key points:
Comparisons based on aggregate suffering can minimally justify the claim, but miss unique historical significance of concentrated evil in the Holocaust.
Factory farming comprises a broader range of activities over time versus the Holocaust’s distinct event.
The comparison rhetorically implies an extreme personal judgment of meat eaters.
There is more philosophical uncertainty about the badness of animal suffering than human suffering in the Holocaust.
Invoking the Holocaust comparison is a rhetorical “emergency button” that wears down its cultural significance.
Similarities in mechanized brutality show factory farming represents a distinctly modern form of evil, so the comparison retains some urgency about preventing future harm.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.