INTRODUCTION
In Utilitarian ethics, one important factor in making moral decisions is the relative moral weight of all moral patients affected by the decision. For instance, when EAs try to determine whether or not shrimp or bee welfare (or even that of chickens or hogs) is a cause worth putting money and effort into advancing, the importance of an individual bee or shrimp’s hedonic state (relative that of a human, or a fish, or a far-future mind affected by the long-term fate of civilization) is a crucial consideration. If shrimp suffer, say, 10% as much as humans would in analogous mental states, then shrimp welfare charities are likely the most effective animal welfare... (read 2701 more words →)