GP's point is that we give humans the benefit of the doubt. You have reinforced that notion.
>> the degree to which something can experience suffering is proportionate to the sophistication of its ability to think.
But we do not assert that human suffering is at all related to IQ or intellectual "sophistication".
>> Simple animals appear to be able to experience pain. However ... they don't appear to be able to creatively imagine and dread pain.
But we would not say that a human with a mental disorder that renders them unable to think ahead is no longer capable of suffering.
>> More sophisticated animals (e.g. dogs) appear to be able to understand suffering in a psychological sense.
By "appear to", do you mean that dogs react to suffering in a way that reminds us of other humans? That they have learned to make the right noises, to flinch, to yelp?
>> ... while it is clear that virtually every organism avoids death, it is not necessarily clear in which of these or other senses they experience suffering.
I suspect that, though you never mention humans here, you are implicitly not questioning whether humans can experience suffering.
>> the degree to which something can experience suffering is proportionate to the sophistication of its ability to think.
But we do not assert that human suffering is at all related to IQ or intellectual "sophistication".
>> Simple animals appear to be able to experience pain. However ... they don't appear to be able to creatively imagine and dread pain.
But we would not say that a human with a mental disorder that renders them unable to think ahead is no longer capable of suffering.
>> More sophisticated animals (e.g. dogs) appear to be able to understand suffering in a psychological sense.
By "appear to", do you mean that dogs react to suffering in a way that reminds us of other humans? That they have learned to make the right noises, to flinch, to yelp?
>> ... while it is clear that virtually every organism avoids death, it is not necessarily clear in which of these or other senses they experience suffering.
I suspect that, though you never mention humans here, you are implicitly not questioning whether humans can experience suffering.