Roughly, pleasure and suffering matter to the extent that there’s an entity experiencing them. I think animals very likely don’t have that kind of experience. I also think some humans don’t, but I think the consequences of trying to draw distinctions among humans in this way would be pretty terrible and we shouldn’t go in that direction. More: The Argument From Marginal Cases.
I would also be curious to hear more about why/​if you are >~95% confident that pigs are not entities that experience suffering, while most humans are.[1]
Is it about the ability to have second-order beliefs, the ability to have complex language and certain kinds of social structures, or something else entirely?
Roughly, pleasure and suffering matter to the extent that there’s an entity experiencing them. I think animals very likely don’t have that kind of experience. I also think some humans don’t, but I think the consequences of trying to draw distinctions among humans in this way would be pretty terrible and we shouldn’t go in that direction. More: The Argument From Marginal Cases.
I would also be curious to hear more about why/​if you are >~95% confident that pigs are not entities that experience suffering, while most humans are.[1]
Is it about the ability to have second-order beliefs, the ability to have complex language and certain kinds of social structures, or something else entirely?
I think pigs are much more similar to humans than broiler chickens, so are a better species to examine the difference
Why?