5 ms·
This is reasonably straightforward if you're dealing with a robot that is indistinguishable from humans but I think it can get complicated as you get further fr
by bumby 5y ago
This is reasonably straightforward if you're dealing with a robot that is indistinguishable from humans but I think it can get complicated as you get further from our place on the evolutionary tree.
Why do humans (generally) treat mammals (especially those selected as pets) differently from, say, insects? People think nothing of swatting mosquitos but most would find wonton killing of pet species as morally abhorrent.
If it could be proven that, say, mollusks or insects have every bit of consciousness and capability of subjective suffering as humans, would that change the way we think about the above? I would say it probably would in part because of how we use consciousness/suffering to define moral value. The difference being we mostly use rough heuristics now to gauge the consciousness of other animals rather than a scientifically defined method.
- GoblinSlayer 5y agoAgain I see this strange idea that insects don't feel pain. Ants express pain much more actively than mammals, they don't cease to move after receiving injury.
- bumby 5y agoI think the relevant distinction is between “responding to threatening stimuli” and “suffering”. I don’t know where the definition of pain would be on that spectrum. There are some neuroscientists who think you need a neocortex to suffer. From that perspective, lower cognitively evolved species like ants and lobsters don’t suffer in the same way we empathetically assume mammals do.
- GoblinSlayer 5y agoThat sounds like philosophical zombie. Pain is stimulus, what is distinction?
- bumby 5y agoPain and suffering are not synonymous. I don’t know if I have the clearest definition, but suffering may have a rumination aspect to it. Plants respond to stimuli, but I’m not convinced they suffer. E.g., a hard workout can cause “pain”, but many people come to like, or even look forward to, that feeling. It still hurts, but the way they are mentally reflecting on that pain distinguishes it from “suffering”. Meanwhile, someone else who hates exercise may feel the exact same pain and be miserable. So it’s not the pain, but the way the pain is framed which leads to suffering.