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Pj's avatar

For me, this article almost feels like a great argument against utilitarian thinking! Or at the very least, it suggests that the utilitarian calculus must include more than just suffering in its accounting. Habitats, for me, have a deeper value and worth which is difficult to quantify or compare with the suffering of wild animals. I also have to wonder if we really have any clue at all about the relative percentages of suffering for insects (at least), and if insects perhaps live in a state of vast neutrality. Human suffering may be dramatically worsened by our ability for self-reflection, death awareness, the stressors of navigating extremely complex social structures, etc for all I know!

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JoA's avatar

Before it all gets flooded with outrage and nitpicks want to thank you for writing this. Even though I could of course find a few personal disagreements here and there, I broadly agree with the claim, and yet it's near-impossible to discuss it (even in animal advocacy). Which is weird, since it's fairly commonly accepted that as an individual, it's not great to hurt insects (it's seen as cruel to rip off their limbs or to burn them with magnifying glasses). This is a few lightyears away from the overton window - as a lot of your stuff often is - and it obviously won't change most readers' minds, but it's a different style than Brian Tomasik's, and I appreciate you putting your own spin on this in order to cover an issue that's not that hard to understand, but extremely hard to acknowledge.

A few shout outs I'd like to make: Wayne Hsiung, founder of Direct Action Everywhere, called insect suffering the most important problem in the world (first seconds of this great discussion : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD1hEpD8B7o ) ; and if you're in France and dislike insect suffering, you could tax-deductibly donate to https://www.onei-insectes.org/ , doing great work to pragmatically act against the rise of insect farming (France being one of the world leaders in this space).

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