Why is it hard to accept the disagreement?
Many animal advocates support environmental programs thinking they help animals. Even after finding out about the differences, many are reluctant to accept them. The author explains why.
The fear of seeming anti-nature
One reason is fear: "If I criticize environmentalism, people will think I don't care about the environment." But this comes from confusion over the word "environmentalism." You can care about how our actions affect the environment because of the beings who live in it, without accepting that species are worth more than individuals.
Sometimes this confusion is used on purpose, to shut down criticism.
Our brain's biases
The author mentions some biases, which are thinking shortcuts that lead us into mistakes.
- Availability cascade: an idea seems more and more true the more it's repeated, even without good reasons.
- Cognitive dissonance: the discomfort of holding two beliefs that clash. To avoid it, we sometimes ignore one of them.
- Sunk cost: the more time and effort we've already put into something, the harder it is to change, even when we realize we were wrong.
- Distrusting the messenger: sometimes we distrust whoever is asking us to change our minds, without any proof that they mean harm.
Changing your mind is hard, but important
After years of believing animal advocacy and environmentalism go together, it's natural to feel some resistance. But recognizing the disagreement matters, so we don't end up supporting actions that harm animals without meaning to.
In short
- The fear of seeming anti-nature comes from a mix-up over words.
- Biases like repetition and dissonance make it hard to change our minds.
- Recognizing the disagreement helps us avoid harming animals without meaning to.