Tyler Cowen: observation

Transcript context

…Oh, wow. Now we’re getting into territory that — honestly, I wish we didn’t have to have captive animals. Ideally, we would not. I don’t myself enjoy seeing animals in captivity, and we’ve come to such a place in order to keep species alive. The reason that some species are still here with us today is because of scientists seeing into the future, and a lot of great conservation efforts are happening because of zoos. Let’s switch this now to the case of the northern white rhinos. They would actually be extinct right now if it were not for — I believe it was in the ’60s. I’m not sure on that, but the Dvůr Králové Zoo brought northern white rhinos from the wild into the zoo, and if it were not for them, they would now be extinct. I have really mixed feelings about all of this. Until we get to a better place as human beings, I see a value. But not all zoos are the same, not all captive animals are the same, and I think we also need to change our understanding. Jane Goodall and many other people have figured out that these creatures are sentient; they’re intelligent life. I was just speaking to a woman who did research on dolphins, and she said something very interesting. Dolphins have been around for many, many millions of years, and she believes that they have evolved not just to have this heightened sense of empathy, but she believes that they actually understand that another dolphin’s suffering is their own suffering. I love thinking about this. I love this idea that if we, as humans, can really start to understand that all of our suffering is the suffering of others. Animals understand that. Elephants understand that. I’ve witnessed that with orphaned herds and how much they care for each other. My great hope for humanity is that we, too, can evolve to really understand and feel one another’s suffering and joy. That, to me, is the only way we’re going to exist in the future. As you probably know, there’s a long-standing and recurring set of debates between animal welfare advocates and environmentalists. The animal welfare advocates typically have less sympathy for the predators because they, in turn, kill other animals. The environmentalists are more likely to think we should, in some way, leave nature alone as much as possible. Where do you stand on that debate? It depends. It’s hard to make a general sweeping statement on this because in some cases, I think that we do have to get involved. Also, the fact is, it’s humans in most cases who have really impacted the environment, and we do need to get engaged and work to restore that balance. I really fall on both sides of this. I will say, I do think that is, in some cases, what differentiates us because, as human beings, we have to kill to survive. Maybe that is where this — I feel like every story I work on has a different answer. Really, I don’t know. It depends what the situation is. Should we bring animals back to landscapes where they have not existed for millions of years? I fall in the line of no. Maybe I’m taking this in a totally different direction, but it’s really complicated, and there’s not one easy answer.…

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