In December 2024 I released a speculative fiction novella called The Jacksons’ Debate, published by a THRIVE Publishing’s initiative, Can Fiction Help Us Thrive? The book challenges speciesism and anthropocentrism by portraying an advanced alien civilization debating whether to include humans in their diet, basically mirroring how many humans today treat non-human animals. Fiction is one way to encourage reflection about the scale of injustice faced by animals and the book offers a useful space to explore human justifications for exploiting animals by drawing a parallel with aliens’ rationalizations for using humans.
The Jacksons are an alien species debating the benefits and pitfalls of consuming humans as a potential food source. Characters like Marvin Jackson (a nutritionist), Grag (a philosopher), and Gunnar (an ethicists) engage with the ethical dilemmas posed by experiments done on human subjects, one of which includes Taylor Swift. The Jacksons think about the nutritional value of humans and the potential social upheavals caused by their potential removal. Glugi Jackson uses advanced telepathic technology to converse with orcas revealing some of humans’ destructive tendencies raising additional questions about the morality of consuming them.
The aliens in the story genuinely believe they are making decisions rooted in ethics and a valuing of life, yet they fail to recognize humans as worthy of their moral consideration. This serves as a warning about how easily seemingly noble moral frameworks that lack deeper reflection or self-awareness can perpetuate injustice. It’s a commentary on the dangers of complacency in our ethics and the unintended harm that can result from them.
One idea I’m particularly fond in the novella of is the “scale of sentience.” It pokes at the human tendency to rank beings based on perceived sentience and assign moral worth accordingly. This concept questions our capacity to judge such matters accurately or to show humility required to admit the limits of our knowledge. Instead, we often fall back on assumptions shaped by our own biases, which is a critical flaw I wanted to highlight throughout the story.
The scale of sentience, while used as satire in Jacksonsonville is applied in the here and now. On 19 November 2021, the UK government announced it would formally recognize cephalopod mollusks (such as octopuses) and decapod crustaceans (such as crabs and lobsters) as sentient beings under its Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill. This announcement was a key step towards measures that, for example, prohibit boiling lobsters alive and otherwise strengthen welfare protection for these invertebrates. While I praise the legislation warranting better living conditions for non-humans, I find it disturbing. It implies that change only comes when we can scientifically prove suffering occurs or somehow prove sentience beyond a shadow of a doubt. Unlike the Jacksons, most humans do not prioritize the precautionary principle and choose instead to torture those for whom the sentience debate rages. The Jacksons call for restraint and further understanding of human sentience. They accept the limits of their knowledge.
Human superiority is a leading cause contributing to the plight of animals and what is needed are not short term, welfare policies that respond to questions of suffering and sentience but rather a broad sweeping shift in perspective authentically accepts other species as equal. Fictional stories, like those provided in the Jacksons’ Debate, provide a safe space to explore underlying logics that have the potential to encourage deep reflection and change.
Can fiction help us thrive? I certainly think so.
Marqv Neves is an advocate based in Rio de Janeiro, interested in exploring the ethical dimensions of coexistence. With a background in law and a master’s in Sustainable Development from the University of Sussex, Marqv combines his legal expertise with his interest in fiction to challenge societal norms. He’s also a researcher at the Thrive Project, where he contributes to building a future that recognises and respects the rights of non-human beings.
Connect with him on LinkedIn. Find out more about the Jacksons’ Debate on Thrive Publishing and read reviews on Good Reads.
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