Recently I posted a question about eating insects that led to a lengthy discussion. That got me thinking that I don't honestly know how many vegans actually think about animals like insects or worms. Now, I know there is a recent thread about insects, but it was a bit more wide-ranging and had a different focus. My question here is quite specific and not meant to provoke discussion about ethical or vegan concerns; rather, I want to get a feel for how you view the experiences of insects.
None of us know whether or not cows or crickets have an inner experience like ours - that they actually feel joy, sadness, anxiety or pain or that they see or hear the outside world in the way we do. But I think most of us assume that cows do, for a variety of good reasons. But here's the question. What do you think about insects? Crickets, bees, beetles, mantids, even ants etc. Do these animals have an inner experience, are they subjects of a life?
If you think they do, would you imagine it to be of the same kind of quality as that of a cow or a sheep? Or do you think it is far less explicit?
How should vegans value the experiences and indeed the interests of insects as compared to mammals? I'm not asking in any way about what that might mean about our actions and choices, I really am just curious how you think about insects.
None of us know whether or not cows or crickets have an inner experience like ours - that they actually feel joy, sadness, anxiety or pain or that they see or hear the outside world in the way we do. But I think most of us assume that cows do, for a variety of good reasons. But here's the question. What do you think about insects? Crickets, bees, beetles, mantids, even ants etc. Do these animals have an inner experience, are they subjects of a life?
If you think they do, would you imagine it to be of the same kind of quality as that of a cow or a sheep? Or do you think it is far less explicit?
How should vegans value the experiences and indeed the interests of insects as compared to mammals? I'm not asking in any way about what that might mean about our actions and choices, I really am just curious how you think about insects.