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Tell you me, what is the difference between a human and an animal?
Are you seriously asking?
In any case, I feel compelled to unravel the question if only for myself.
setting aside the vapidly true 'humans are animals' take-
Highly abstract language, highly evolved culture and technology (even when compared to other animals with culture and tool use), their unique status as current peak predator and as our game theoretic peers, the fact that they are foom-ing much faster than any other animal species, thus becoming less and less like other animal species.
Other than those very, very crucial differences, the remainder of our variance is perhaps average among mammals.
Alright. Why are animal lives or animal welfare morally relevant?
They're not... well, ok. This misses the point but:
To be rigorous, I see two ways things can be morally relevant, terminally, and instrumentally. Instrumentality is much more convergent than terminality. So a Vegan would value them terminally, and they have value instrumentally, I might even argue that we've thus far squandered the potential for use cases for animals- But instrumentally, food is valuable, obedient servants are valuable. So this does the Vegan who wishes for all to treat them as Kantian persons few favors.
So yes, I can totally squeeze water from a stone and come up with ways in which they are morally relevant if you push me to. I can argue that side of the argument. But I'm not trying to do that. My top comment has failed you. I apologize for that. It seems that I have brought you to the conclusion that I'm a vegan.
My position is much closer to- "Those animals will taste even better if you embrace their suffering with a sociopathic compassion that levies understanding but no mercy, and indulge deeply in the body horror. (Also my indulgence in this mode of thinking is why I'm not a vegan)"
My comment absolutely failed to convey this. Mostly because it was busy clapping.
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