Ah yes, the daily flawless logic of “you may treat them like absolute garbage on factory farms, but as long as you breed more, that’s actually good for them”
Next up is how puppy mills are the best invention ever and that the puppies should be grateful.
You can’t maximise happiness with happy people/creatures because you’ll get more happiness by going for quantity over quality. Maximum total happiness had to be sad creatures, but way more of them. Maybe it’s a good critique of some kinda of utilitarianism, or maybe it’s a good reason to factory farm every species. Who can say?
That assumes that even the most miserable lifes are worth living. If I lived in factory farm conditions my whole life, with the kind of procedures the animals have to go through, I’d try to kill myself as soon as possible, as far as I can tell.
In terms of Utilitarianism, it’s one of the most clearest examples of a life with a net negative intrinsic utility I could think of.
If I literally had that experience for my whole life until then, I’m pretty certain that I would end it. Even if I knew that I would get out somehow. I can’t even imagine how traumatizing it must be if you never experienced comfort and safety, for your entire life.
Its possible that if you’ve never experienced comfort and safety you wont know it exists and the suffering is just baseline and therefore normal and therefore basically fine.
Unlikely, but possible. I’m just trying to hold onto any sliver of hope I can in such an awful world of man-made horror.
Ah yes, the daily flawless logic of “you may treat them like absolute garbage on factory farms, but as long as you breed more, that’s actually good for them”
Next up is how puppy mills are the best invention ever and that the puppies should be grateful.
Welcome to: The Repugnant Conclusion!
You can’t maximise happiness with happy people/creatures because you’ll get more happiness by going for quantity over quality. Maximum total happiness had to be sad creatures, but way more of them. Maybe it’s a good critique of some kinda of utilitarianism, or maybe it’s a good reason to factory farm every species. Who can say?
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/repugnant-conclusion/
That assumes that even the most miserable lifes are worth living. If I lived in factory farm conditions my whole life, with the kind of procedures the animals have to go through, I’d try to kill myself as soon as possible, as far as I can tell.
In terms of Utilitarianism, it’s one of the most clearest examples of a life with a net negative intrinsic utility I could think of.
Is it really better to be dead?
What if you were about to win the lottery?
it’s better to never have existed in the first place than to be born into the life of the average livestock
Are you sure? How good is non-existence? I’ve never tried it.
We all did, and we all will again. Its scary stuff, but also it isnt, but also it should be, but also it shouldn’t be
Speak for yourself, I am eternal
If I literally had that experience for my whole life until then, I’m pretty certain that I would end it. Even if I knew that I would get out somehow. I can’t even imagine how traumatizing it must be if you never experienced comfort and safety, for your entire life.
Maybe watch Dominion if you can’t see my point.
How would you even know what you’re missing?
I’ll watch Dominion, but in exchange you have to (re-)read Man’s Search for Meaning.
Its possible that if you’ve never experienced comfort and safety you wont know it exists and the suffering is just baseline and therefore normal and therefore basically fine.
Unlikely, but possible. I’m just trying to hold onto any sliver of hope I can in such an awful world of man-made horror.