What a bias is
Biases work like shortcuts in the brain. Sometimes they help us decide quickly, but often they make us get things wrong without noticing.
A paradox
The problems with the most victims are exactly the most forgotten ones, even by animal advocates. Three examples:
- most animal exploitation affects insects, crustaceans, and fish;
- wild animals suffer in even bigger numbers from natural causes;
- risks of future suffering could affect astronomical numbers.
Because of the kind of victim
- None of these victims are human, or almost none.
- They're small animals, seen as not very intelligent and not much like us. They stir up less empathy than a dog or a dolphin.
- In the case of the future, the victims don't exist yet.
Because of the number of victims
- Collapse of compassion: we feel more sorry for one victim with a name and a face than for millions of nameless victims. This is tied to the identifiable victim effect.
- Scope neglect: we don't notice the difference between big numbers. A billion and a trillion both just feel like "a lot."
What to do
Our empathy doesn't reach everyone who needs it, and sometimes it picks unfairly. That's why it's important to use impartial principles to decide, and not just feelings.
In short
- The problems with the most victims are the most forgotten.
- This happens because of the kind of victim and the sheer size of the numbers.
- Impartial principles help fix what empathy can't reach.