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Don't ban chimp testing
Cons90

Regarding what MinibearRex pointed out, I think some humans, because of their cognitive abilities, are more capable of making the universe a better place than either chimpanzees or other humans are. Many humans lack those cognitive capacities, others will use them in ways that will do more harm than good.

But an important question here is: What makes the universe a better place? In my view, to put it briefly, the universe becomes a better place if there is less suffering of sentient beings in it, and, additionally, more enjoyment of sentient beings in it.

S... (read more)

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6PhilGoetz
You are pattern-matching it onto the readily-available pattern of "Let's do whatever the hell we want to to animals, because they are lesser beings and don't matter, or at least can't stop us." This may map well onto many of the replies in this thread, but not to my original post. The problem with banning chimp testing is that it prevents us from making morally correct decisions. If you want to make the universe a place where there is less suffering of sentient beings, then you should want to make it a place where people are allowed to decide what will cause less suffering to sentient beings. This means that either option A (do any and all conceivable experiments on non-humans), and option B (ban testing on chimps), are off the table. These are both immoral (or at least amoral) options, because they both avoid making decisions about whether a particular experiment will cause more or less suffering in the world.
0Raemon
Thank you for saving me the effort of saving exactly this. My only caveat is that I'd place higher priority on universes that include some degree of abstract reasoning, imagination and ability to plan, because those universes have a higher probability of dramatically improving.
Don't ban chimp testing
Cons40

The replies to the arguments opposing chimp testing haven’t tried to show why the defense of such testing is right from a nonspeciesist viewpoint. Rather, they’ve assumed that viewpoint.

Explaining all the arguments against the idea that speciesism is wrong would require lots of space. So I’ll just say here that if we are concerned with wellbeing it is arbitrary to take into account only some of them simply because they are possessed by certain individuals, rather than other ones. Of course many people are arbitrary, and found their moral views on such ar... (read more)

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6Emile
"It's arbitrary" isn't a sufficient reason to dismiss a preference or a social norm; for example the choice of which side of the road to drive on, and the rules governing right of way at intersections are arbitrary too, yet we're better off with such "aribitrary" rules than without them. I have a preference for humans over chimps, mostly because I'm a human myself, probably also because there is little use for a "social contract" or reciprocation between a human and a Chimp - I don't need to be nice towards chimps in the expectation that it will make them nicer with me in the long run (if we shared earth with another species with our level of technology and knowledge and power, it would make sense to treat them as equals and care about them in the expectation that they'd do the same about us). People rarely spell out those reasons explicitly because doing so signals one is cold, calculating and selfish, but I suspect it mostly boils down to that.
5MinibearRex
Welcome to LW! I do indeed hold what you call a "speciest" viewpoint. Chimpanzees are worthy of moral consideration, but a human does have moral worth than a chimpanzee. Chimpanzees, likewise, have a greater moral worth than a lizard, and I would willingly experiment on lizards in order to improve the lives of Chimpanzees. Additionally, Humans aren't treated as more special because of a completely arbitrary reason: they have more moral weight because a human, because of its intelligence, is more capable of making the universe a better place than a Chimpanzee is. Sacrificing a Chimpanzee to save a human is a similar ethical question to the trolley problem.
Don't ban chimp testing
Cons60

Hello! I usually read LessWrong posts, however, I'd never felt the need to create an account because I thought I needed to make some comment. However, when I read this one, I saw that, after so much time visiting LW without creating an account, I needed to create one to comment on it.

We have a strong bias in favor of human interests. But when we try to get rid of them we can see things in a different light. The magnitude of the harm humans cause to other animals really is significant and overwhelmingly bigger than the benefits humans obtain from it. It's v... (read more)

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wedrifid100

Experimenting only on nonhuman animals reflects the idea that human interests are more important simply because they are humans. This is a view we must oppose.

I must? I reject any such obligation. You can oppose it if you wish. But as far as I'm concerned I'm free to support or oppose any combination of experimentation on human or non-human animal that I like.

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2scientism
I don't buy the argument that we only favour humans because of 'speciesism.' There's a qualitative difference between humans and other animals and that difference is due to language. Consider: 1. A doctor tells you that he's going to do something that will cause you pain but that the pain will pass and it will improve your health. 2. You're locked in a room and told you'll never be allowed to leave. You're told that your family will be killed and there's nothing you can do to stop it. These scenarios are not available to other animals because they don't have language. The quality and type of suffering in each scenario is dependent on what is said. We can't reassure an animal that a pain will be short or for its own good but equally we can't convince it that a pain will be prolonged or inform it of a harm that is not immediately apparent. These distinctions are simply not available to non-human animals. Morally, they are therefore in a qualitatively separate category from us.
Emile160

Experimenting only on nonhuman animals reflects the idea that human interests are more important simply because they are humans. This is a view we must oppose.

Why? I consider that human interests are more important simply because they are humans. What's wrong with speciesism, beyond the superficial analogies to racism?

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-4PhilGoetz
Agreed. But there are many less-destructive ways of promoting this bias. Far better to become a vegetarian. If you aren't, then I don't think you're entitled to write that letter to Scientific American on that basis.
1Raemon
My feelings are slightly mixed when it comes to medical advances, but basically this. Humans are not inherently special. I might sacrifice a chimp to save the life of a human, but it is a sacrifice, the lesser of two evils, no better than sacrificing a mentally handicapped human.