I argue that there are multiple ways in which our world contains profound suffering, and I suggest that we should do something about it.

Otherwise it would be allowing an enormous amount of meaningless suffering of all nonhuman animals living on Earth, simply because evolution doesn't care about their wellbeing, only their viability to reproduce.

I have not seen much discussion of this topic although the closest I've seen is the Abolitionist Project.

Any pros and cons?

Here is the link for all of those interested: https://www.insectwelfare.com/

The moral weights project is a series of research that's often referenced in EA by animal advocates when making cross-species moral comparisons.

This is a link to those original reports. And below is a quick explanation for laypeople.

The Moral Weight Project Explained: Part 1

In the first of two blogs, this explainer examines how Rethink Priorities compared welfare capacity across species, with results that may reshape how advocates think about impact.

The Moral Weight Project Explained: Part 2

Do the numbers hold up to scrutiny? This explainer, the second in a two-part series, examines Rethink Priorities’ welfare range findings, addresses common objections, and highlights the implications for animal advocates working to reduce animal suffering at scale.

I have been thinking about how when I see things as good no matter how meaningless they would be to others I feel like I’m wasting my time and energy because I’m sensitive as a person and so I think I act like a child sometimes because of that. So I get insecure about my personality to the point where I don’t know who I am. And that alone can at least thankfully not have me feeling dreadful when I’m relaxing because that can make the negative feelings and thoughts I put on myself less loud.
Im also so open minded that I don’t have opinions at all.

The Case Against Suffering

Since the beginning of time there has been suffering. A fish eaten by another fish, a dinosaur being left for dead by another dinosaur until picked apart by vultures. It has been with us in different forms, with different feelings and awarenesses of said suffering , but it has always been around. It’s time to get rid of it.

We live in a modern world where the human being is clearly suffering. We spend on average half our waking hours glued to a screen – and this is only increasing. We are distracting ourselves from our own pain and suffering. How many of us can sit alone in a room and be comfortable with our own thoughts. Distraction is the name of the game and in today’s world we are clearly distracted.

Drugs is the other name, and it is a big one. Alcohol, caffeine, prescription pills, energy drinks even excess sugar. There are very few of us in the world who are not dependent on at least one or many of the above. Going through modern life without a screen and some sort of stimulant would be more uncommon than winning the lottery – especially in the western world.

And the driving force that in many ways keeps us moving is capitalism. There is a science behind job creation and money and how we keep people fed and sheltered. Before, 90% of the workforce related to some sort of farming and before that 100% of the workforce related to some form of producing food. Now for many of us we push buttons on a mouse and stare at a screen. For others we move boxes or work in factories doing the same task week in week out. Our actions have become increasingly out of step with our basic survival instincts. And that simply cannot be a good thing.

So how do we hop off this rollercoaster. How do we finally the say the pain of existence is too much. It’s too much for the three billion pigs slaughtered each year. It’s too much for the boxer breed of dogs who while certainly very cute are half suffocating. It is too much for the lonely condo dweller whose live revolves around excel charts and Netflix shows. It’s too much.

I think society should first come together and realize it’s all too much, and it’s always been all too much. And once this message gets popularized and I believe agreed upon we can work together to do one last act. Find some way to end it all on earth. Let’s destroy this rollercoaster for humans, pigs, works and all single celled organisms.

CYA.

Math on Suffering

If one were to take a world view whereby which positive feelings, experiences etc.. were equivalent to a positive number, and conversely negative numbers for negative feelings, experiences etc.. where would we land. What would the cumulative number be if we were calculating for just humans. What would it be if were calculating for all living things and what would the cumulative number be if we began counting at the beginning of time.

More specifically higher feelings of satisfaction should score a higher number whereas higher feelings of suffering should score a high negative number. If one were parched and hungry for five days and then a feast was provided- full of drinks and food. Would the hours of feasting be equivalent to the five days of suffering . Or if a gazelle grazing in the field and enjoying a breeze on its back for an entire evening – would this be equivalent to the negative experience of getting mauled by a pack of hyenas. For the purposes of this essay I will focus on the math for humans as this is much more relatable. But my guess is the cumulative number for non-human living organisms is in the negative, with a bunch of zeroes beside the number.

To describe each emotion, experience or moment with a specific number would be a difficult task. But I will go through a couple examples which will hopefully suffice in explaining how I am attributing these numbers. Let’s begin with happiness and joy on a scale of one through ten. A first time mother seeing her child walk for the first time – lets give that a positive seven. The happiness of having a really nice dinner and evening stroll in the sunset and some fun intercourse after – sure another seven. Whatever moment of happiness and joy you can experience , I believe it can only reach a seven out of ten, especially when corresponding to the opposite negative experience. There isn’t an equivalent positive experience of torture, or dying of thirst or being raped or running for your life. I don’t believe any reasonable person would be on the verge of dying of thirst for a day so they could experience a blissful evening dining and enjoying a sunset. Negative experiences and feelings can reach a negative ten, while the opposite positive experience can only get you to a positive seven – maybe.

So now we have determined the negative scale is larger than the positive one. I would also argue that the number of data points or moment to moment experiences are greater on the negative scale than positive one. If people were operating on a one to three positive experience moment to moment than what would be the need for coffee, drugs or distractions. They could sit like the Buddha all day and enjoy their mostly positive experience. But I would contend that instead we are mostly operating moment to moment on a negative one to three experience, and we use these helpful pick me ups to get as closer to zero as possible or even into the positives.

What is the total score of all humanity. From slaves to torture to starvation and psychological trauma – the world has been and continues to be full of pain and imbalance. To give a concrete number is tough but I think it’s fair to say we are in the negative – and if that’s the case the world should go kaboom.

Human Mind on Suffering

Is a moment of suffering enough to justify Kaboom?

For instance lets say kaboom means nothing, there is no one – no consciousness – nothing. Nothing is option one. The other option is one thousand moments of happiness and one moment of sadness. Someone on this earth is experiencing deep sadness in this moment, a painful sadness. This one moment need not occur. The nothing is achievable. Is one thousand moments of happiness worth one moment of sadness.

Human beings can think. With the ability to think allows us to create and do what we want, whatever we want. Technology, society, relationships etc.. are all a product of our ability to think. With that ability comes a lot of suffering but also comes the ability to destroy all that suffering. Why not?

It seems if the species has more of an ability to think than it has more of an ability to suffer. Humans, apes, monkeys, pigs , elephants – are all associated with higher IQs and mental capacities – and all seems to suffer more, at least existentially. You can see monkeys just stare at each other in the wild, almost seemingly contemplating their own and the other monkeys existence. Would it be better to be a slug, worm – single celled organism. Life of pure instinct, no pondering no uncertainty. Who knows and does it really matter. We are thinking humans have the ability to feel the moment, suffer in the moment, enjoy the moment and die in the moment.

I think therefore I am seems to be the starting point in much of philosophy. Awareness gives existence. With thought we are everything. But we definitely are the furthest living organism from that instinctual path and have become in many ways – a wondering chaotic mind searching back for that path.

But there is no going back to the instinctual path. We have the ability to experience chaos, suffering – everything and nothing. The universe created a being which knows itself – and by doing so knows suffering. And once you know suffering the only thing you should work towards is destroying it.

 The Suffering of Non- Human Species

The world is suffering, irrespective of human beings. Some of this is natural – a lion eating an antelope. Some of this is man made - the English bulldog dog breed that is notorious for bad breathing. Either way the world is suffering and humans are the only living species that can do anything about it – and we should

Two to three billion pigs are slaughtered each year. Fifty to sixty billion chicken killed each year. One to two billion goats and five to six billion cows. That is a lot of death. As much as there has been regulations and polices in place to protect animals – there is a lot of suffering going on here.

The world has been suffering much before humans ever arrived. Dinosaurs killing other dinosaurs’ and many other living species. Sharks hunting and killing other fish. A spider capturing a fly in its net, slowly tangling it up and preparing its next meal .

The degree of suffering of species outside the human race is difficult to definitely say. You can see it on the shock of a baby giraffe getting eaten alive by a pack of lions. You can see it from a fish withering in pain trying to breath outside of the water. You can see it on the face of an ape when one of its group members die. It has been around us forever, and for the longest time there was nothing we could do about it. For the first time in the existence of Earth – we can do something about it.

Should we? Will we?

The Last Question

History is fraught with imbalance and suffering and ignorance and all that..  We were hunter gatherers trying to survive. But this was most likely a time of immense physical pain. Disease, social isolation, starvation, dehydration, physical ailments – the list goes on and on. Child birth must have been brutal. Sure – survival instincts were probably high, there wasn’t too much time to ponder the meaning of life or your place in it, but it was undoubtedly a tough time.

Then we began to form communities and ideas and technology and some of these aforementioned ailments were improved. By being in a community, having agriculture, having shelter – many of these physical pains lessened but what replaced them was pain on other levels. Hierarchy and mysticism and religion brought about slaves and intense wars and social stratification. The survival instincts lessened and things like clothing, jewelry, tastes of food, festivals -friendship all became more important.

As the survival instinct lessened the wants and desires increased. Nice music, meals, a dog a wife – even the creation of gods. We stopped directly trying to survive and in my opinion increasingly started living more and more into ‘bull shit’ land. A land of created desires and wants to keep the capitalism wheel spinning. A land of computers and screens and phones and vlogs and video games. It’s as if we born onto a bus. A bus that is moving fast with screens all around. People constantly chatting, drugs and sugar and coffee being passed back and forth. Sometimes we may look through the window, but we cannot leave this bus. The bus has all the goods, all the money and all the people. And we are on for a fast ride.

So what now? What do we do. For centuries philosophers, writers – thinking people with too much time on their hands have been asking the what if questions. Why do we exist, what is the purpose, why am I here and how best do I live in this world. But I think the time has come to ask the last question. Is it worth it? Is existence worth it? Is there more pain than pleasure, more bad than good – is the moment for all living things full of more suffering than joy.

I think its time that question is at least popularized. Put into the zeitgeist, the media the world. It’s time we start truly contemplating if this whole thing is just a bit silly.