Why to focus on reducing intense suffering? – Manu Herrán

Abstract

Intense suffering is bad, and thus reducing it is good. While increasing happiness is also good, most actions intended to increase happiness are motivated by a desire to reduce suffering. For example, eating prevents hunger, and finding a partner prevents loneliness. Furthermore, increasing happiness is less relevant than reducing suffering. A being without negative experiences is already happy, so more happiness offers only marginal benefit. Prioritizing the reduction of the most intense suffering is optimal for any sentient being. While it is generally better to alleviate many instances of moderate suffering than one instance of extreme suffering, intense suffering is disproportionately neglected because it is unpleasant to contemplate and often experienced by beings who cannot report it, such as those close to death or being tortured. Therefore, focusing on reducing intense suffering presents significant opportunities for impactful intervention. – AI-generated abstract.