Part 3: Expanding Our Compassion
The question is not, Can they reason?, nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? Why should the law refuse its protection to any sensitive being?
– Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789)
In this sequence, we consider the question of which groups we ought to grant moral consideration, with a particular focus on animal welfare.
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<— Part 2: Differences in Impact
—> Part 4: Longtermism
Organization Spotlight: Animal Charity Evaluators |
 Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) aims to identify the best ways to improve the lives of animals on a wide scale, while continually updating their recommendations based on new evidence. Their recommended charities use a range of strategies to help animals, including corporate outreach, legal work, and developing alternative proteins. Interventions in this area can be surprisingly cost-effective: for example, even under conservative estimates, it seems that tens or hundreds of chickens can be spared from cage confinement per dollar spent (source). |
Photo credit: Leon Ephraïm