4 ms·
Introduction to Sentience
- ggm 9y agoOnce you decide that self-awareness is an arbiter of actions towards conscious animals, (I guess in some sense, 'conscious' now has to mean ... is capable of showing its self-aware) a lot of things have two sides. Because deciding something doesn't display self-awareness implies some actions you wouldn't take, you might now take. So, it takes on a burden, of being a decision-logic question with strong implications. Peter Singer (boo! hooray! (he has fans and enemies) both) seems to say that in some situations, viewed as an almost economic minmax question, cows (who we have good reason to beleive are self aware) may benefit as a species, from complying with a regime where we (force) feed them, breed them and then kill and eat them. The hooray side (meat eaters?) are very happy. the Boo side (the animal ethicially minded vegetarians?) are not.