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pragmatist comments on "Stupid" questions thread - Less Wrong Discussion
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The effort involved is not the only cost. Tigers are sentient beings capable of suffering. Their lives have value. Plus there is value associated with the existence of the species. The extinction of the Bengal tiger in the wild would be a tragedy, and not just because of all the trouble those guys with guns would have to go to.
While I would agree that their lives have value, it's not clear that it's positive value. Life in the wild is not like life in civilization. It sucks.
Also, the value of the lives they influence will most likely be more important than their lives. They eat other animals on a regular basis.
Life in the wild being what it is as opposed to what it could be is a tragedy. Life in the wild existing at all may well be a tragedy. Perhaps what we really ought to do is just burn down the wild, and make that way of life end.
Also, tigers are presumably having some ecological effect, so there might be costs to a tigerless region.
Surely a more obvious cost is the vast number of people who like tigers and would be sad if they all died?
Eh, I bet most of them would get over it pretty quick. Also, I'm not a utilitarian.