“Lives not worth living?” by Moritz Stumpe

This is my contribution to the animal welfare vs. global health debate week. Thank you to Felix Werdermann, Helene Kortschak, and Vasco Grilo for their feedback. TL;DR I think there's significant uncertainty about whether most sentient lives, human or non-human, are truly "net positive" - meaning their positive experiences outweigh their negative ones. This uncertainty has important implications when comparing animal welfare (AW) and global health and development (GHD) interventions. While GHD often focuses on extending human lives, AW interventions have a stronger tendency to reduce the number of sentient lives lived. Factoring in uncertainty about whether most lives are worth living might justify a stronger focus on AW interventions over GHD, especially in areas with extreme suffering. Context and epistemic status I currently strongly prioritize AW over GHD, both in my giving and in my active work for Animal Advocacy Africa. My perspective is reasonably summarized by existing [...] ---Outline:(00:16) TL;DR(00:59) Context and epistemic status(02:16) It is uncertain whether most sentient lives are worth living(03:13) How rationally can we think about the net value of our own lives?(04:31) Evolutionary Perspectives on Happiness and Dissatisfaction(06:49) (Farmed) animal welfare interventions have a stronger tendency to reduce the number of sentient lives lived than global health interventions(09:29) Uncertainty around whether most sentient lives are worth living may warrant a stronger focus on animal welfare interventions(12:17) ConclusionThe original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: October 8th, 2024 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/hDoW3W32YmJynWiiR/lives-not-worth-living --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.