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by microtonal
5525 days ago
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Let me speak up just once to object (and simultaneously confirming your QA ;)). I am a vegetarian, but rarely discuss it, unless someone explicitly inquires about my motivations. Personally, I do think that killing an animal for food is immoral, but moral is not absolute. What if a desert nomad family is starving? In my position I can barely imagine what it is like to be starving, so I am certainly not in the position to judge them for killing an animal. What if I meet someone who has saintly behavior, but enjoys a steak every once in a while? He or she has probably brought more happiness to the world then I ever will. Borrowing from Matthew: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" |
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I grew up on a farm and have both hunted as well as literally cut the throat of the things I've eaten (cows and pigs included). I think attributing the taking of another animals life as immoral is a bit naive. I'm not saying everyone should eat purely meats and proteins, but our entire natural world revolves around animals/plants eating other animals/plants.
I find the distinction of killing animals versus plants a false dichotomy, you are still killing a living creature of some sort. If we take an Aristotelean view that the telos of a human diet, given that we are omnivores is to consume both meat and vegetables, there is little point to describing killing an animal as immoral.
Now Aristotle logic problems aside such as most animals telos is arguably not to be eaten, its likely to reproduce and make more happy little animals, I'm curious as to your philosophical reasons for attributing eating meat, likely not from insects, to being an immoral action? I'll presume that no creature killed is "sentient", basically not human to make things simpler.
It sounds like your definition of moral behavior is consequentialist, but its hard to tell why outside of taking life being immoral. If we take a common law view, not even necessity is justification for murder. I'm reading between lines but guessing the killing of the creature is your immoral judgement. Ref http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Dudley_and_Stephens granted that was referring to murder of the cabin boy to sustain the rest, but I think its a example of survival versus morality.
Out of pure curiosity what is your take on Tibetan sky burials? Is it right to feed animals human meat? If not, I'm curious how you reconcile that against humans eating dead animals?
Ok back to my automation.