Episode Details
Back to Episodes“Reasons To Be Skeptical Of RP’s Moral Weights Project” by James Brobin
Description
In Rethink Priorities' (2021-2022) Moral Weights Project, they attempted to compare the welfare ranges of different farmed animals (which basically means comparing how many suffering shrimp are equal to one suffering chicken.) This project is the most comprehensive attempt at doing inter-species welfare comparisons to date, and it makes a very valuable contribution to the field.
That said, I think that many EAs have excessive confidence in these welfare ranges.[1] As such, in this post, I'm going to explain the project's basic methodology and some reasons to be skeptical of it.
Note: I am not a biologist. Others have written about this before, but I thought I would make this post since I've been thinking about the topic, and I think this view is worth re-iterating.
Welfare Range Estimates Chart
For reference, this chart is the welfare ranges being discussed:
The Basic Methodology
To create these moral weights, they calculated welfare ranges using three models:
- The Equality Model
- According to this model, all species have equal welfare ranges. (So, a chicken and a pig's most intense experiences would be equal in intensity.)
- The Neurophysiological Model
- According to this model, an animal's welfare range can be determined [...]
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Outline:
(00:58) Welfare Range Estimates Chart
(01:19) The Basic Methodology
(02:46) Reasons to Be Skeptical
(06:22) Conclusion
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First published:
June 9th, 2026
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
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