I'm certainly not dismissing the pain of animals; I'm a vegan because I don't want to cause gratuitous suffering. But the idea that no suffering is ever justified strikes me as not being grounded in reality. The only way humans as a species would have a hope of completely ceasing to cause suffering to other sentient beings would be if we ceased to exist. Heck, just by breathing, each of us is increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and probably contributing in a minuscule way to global warming, and the destruction of various species. The best we can really do is to minimize suffering, and that means working with the calculus you so abhor.
You are free to claim research cannot be justified. But I am baffled that someone who professes concern about suffering would claim research that could alleviate this is of trivial importance.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-05-29 11:11 pm (UTC)You are free to claim research cannot be justified. But I am baffled that someone who professes concern about suffering would claim research that could alleviate this is of trivial importance.