3 ms·
> A hundred mice to save a human seems like a fair trade What are you measuring or estimating in that calculus?
by wombatmobile 5y ago
> A hundred mice to save a human seems like a fair trade
What are you measuring or estimating in that calculus?
- smt88 5y agoIt's obviously subjective, but: - mice don't live as long as humans (a dead human is more years of lost life than a dead mouse) - mice don't mourn each other, and these mice couldn't anyway because they'll all be dead soon - in nature, mice typically die violent deaths anyway, so lab mice usually aren't suffering worse than a wild mouse would - mice don't get sick and suffer for years, becoming a burden to their family and society - mice don't fear their premature deaths for months or years I mean, I can go on and on. Knowledge of the past and future gives humans a significantly greater propensity for suffering than other animals.
- wombatmobile 5y agoI see what you're saying from a human's subjective point of view. If aliens from Tralfalmadore were to adopt the same values, they might choose to experiment on humans because - humans don't live as long as Tralfalmadorians - humans don't mourn each other the same way Tralfalmadorians do, and these humans couldn't anyway because they'll all be dead soon - in nature, humans typically die violent deaths anyway, so lab humans aren't suffering worse than a wild human would - humans don't get sick and suffer for as long as Tralfalmadorians do - humans can't predict their expiry date like Tralfalmadorians can