EA Talks EAG 2019 SF: Does suffering dominate enjoyment in the animal kingdom? (Zach Groff)
In this academic session, Zach Groff, a PhD student at Stanford University whose research areas include welfare economics, discusses a 1995 paper which argued that nature contains more suffering than enjoyment. After analyzing the model used in that paper, Groff found that an error negated its original conclusion, and that evolutionary dynamics imply that enjoyment may predominate for some species. In addition to this result, Groff also discusses suggestions for empirical study of wild animal welfare.
To learn more about effective altruism, visit effectivealtruism.org
This talk was filmed at EA Global 2019: San Francisco. You can learn more about these conferences at eaglobal.org.
Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.