Up@dawn 2.0

Monday, February 16, 2015

H01 Philosoraptors FQ's and DQ's

Hey groupies. I suppose we can all comment here (assuming we have to).

I really enjoyed tomorrow's reading. I especially liked the section on animals. I've been a vegetarian for almost 4 years and its nice to have some of the ideas I had back then conceptualized a bit more clearly. I hope some people will think twice about eating/buying their meat.

Film to Watch: Nation Earth's Earthlings (not for the squeamish!)


FQ: Who is the woman in Boethius' book The Consolation of Philosophy? (answer is in the question!)

DQ: Do you think animals were placed on this planet specifically for human gratification (or sustenance I suppose; even though we don't need to eat animals anymore...)?

8 comments:

  1. FQ Where did Boethius write his most famous book?

    DQ Do you think that detachment can always make you happy?

    I am certainly not convinced by the ideas of Peter Singer. but I will have to think more about animals.

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  2. Rebecca Clippard10:57 AM CST

    Watched the preview to Earthlings and it solidified my understanding of animal cruelty. Now I really will never eat meat. And while I don't regret watching the preview, my first reaction was denial. This is despite the many food documentaries I've watched over the years that have always discussed animal cruelty.

    There is also a book called The Jungle that described the American meat industry in vivid detail. It was said to be one of the main reasons behind the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. But the book is looking more and more like reality again since the FDA's regulatory power has slowly been taken away. Despite this, nearly all the websites I checked mentioned the FDA's achievements and not its current funding loss.

    Which brings me to my DQ: Do you think ignorance (as in not knowing a fact) helps people to eat/buy products despite their ethics?

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    2. Not to offer any answers to these questions prematurely, but I do think that it is just complete ignorance of the grotesque practices of the meat industry that makes people buy cheap meat without a second thought. Most people, in my experience, really don't want to know what goes on behind closed doors. All I get is "it tastes good so I'll eat it". There are rarely thoughts about how we (humans) mechanize and liquidate living beings. If people believe life is precious, why do we continually take advantage of it in such grotesque ways? I believe humans are the most self-absorbed beings on the planet Earth (myself included). We concentrate on our own wallets and pleasures instead of the possibility of making life a tolerable experience for everyone in it (including animals). I believe animals have the right to live their lives as they would in nature.

      Although I'm a vegetarian, I have hunted and killed three deer in my life. My role was to play the wolf (who are largely absent in Wisconsin) and take a single deer from the population. I gave the meat to family friends so that they could buy less of the sh** that comes out of the grocery stores. I believe this is the only sustainable way for humans to eat meat; that is, go out and kill your own meat for your family. After all, humans are naturally predators and are meant to eat meat that has been responsibly harvested from nature. Death is, unfortunately, a very important part of the way ecosystems work. I think a lot of people may be swayed toward vegetarianism if they were to be able to witness the ugliness of death first hand. I don't hunt anymore because every time I kill a deer and watch it wriggle on the ground and die, I want to cry (and I rarely ever cry). It's all for the sake of getting good meat into people's homes, but I can't do it anymore.

      Specifically for the vegetarians: Do you think hunting is a bad thing to do?

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    3. Rebecca Clippard6:53 PM CST

      I ask my DQ because of my own experiences struggling for the answer. When I was in elementary and middle school, being vegetarian was a curious anomaly. Even when people questioned my reasons, their eyes would glaze when I began a longer explanation. They did not want to know what was in the school lunches or their fast food. I now think this is a survival mechanism but all I remember at the time was frustration. Humans don’t like anything which changes a set-in-stone view, was my eventual conclusion. Otherwise how could it be that so many food, meat-industry, and health documentaries come out, and people rarely seem more informed? It’s purposeful ignorance and childhood impressions. When I was little, I had a toy farm set complete with a red barn, farmer, and all kinds of barn animals. It took a discussion with my parents to realize that these classic farms were obsolete, replaced by corporate industry. If I had not had my parents’ guidance, I might still be under my initial, much more pleasant impressions of farm animals. I would love to know animal cruelty was a thing of the past, but it’s not.

      To answer your question about hunting: I think it’s degrading when its for pleasure. It’s horrible to hunt animals and then stuff them and waste the potential food. It’s degrading because it takes something nature does for necessity and mocks it. That being said, the only way I would ever eat meat is if I had raised and killed it myself. But I don’t think I am capable of that. I would make a poor hunter because I would not want to kill. Animals have lives too and it’s a very human thing to judge them based on our standards. If I was judged by an animal’s standards, I would fall short.

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    4. Anonymous11:17 PM CST

      I completely agree with you both! I too have been a vegetarian for... um... I think about 6 years now? I can't quite remember!

      I definitely think the 'ignorance is bliss' mentality is a huge part of why slaughterhouses and such are still in business. I think a lot of people are beginning to be aware that slaughter is inhumane, but most are unwilling to discover just how appalling it is, because they know if they did it would convince them to stop eating meat!

      For me, I decided to become a vegetarian when I was reading about horse slaughter... As an equestrian, reading about the brutal methods with which horses are tortured and then murdered absolutely horrified me. I realized that if I love horses so much, how can I eat cows, which are a similar animal? How can I eat any animal for that matter? Americans frown on eating dogs and cats, but readily consume billions of chickens, cows, and pigs each year. These animals are different, certainly, but surely all have an equal love of life, and equal worth. Intelligence or beauty or monetary value should not determine who gets to live and who must die.

      In the book of Genesis in the Bible, God commands Adam and Eve to 'rule over' the creatures of the Earth. However, sometimes this phrase is improperly understood... it is sometimes used as an excuse to exploit animals. I believe entirely the opposite! Humans have the responsibility to care for, provide for, and preside over planet Earth... not with an iron fist, but a kind and nurturing hand. Life is indeed the most precious thing on Earth. Once mankind brought sin into the Earth, everything changed... animals became carnivorous and man began to hunt animals. And I do not believe killing animals for food is wrong. But I do believe that murdering them in mass numbers, using horrifying methods, is indeed wrong.

      And personally, in this modern era where we are advanced in our understanding of nutrition and health, and especially in America where we are generally affluent enough to purchase food from the store, I believe there is no need to purchase meat. I do not typically use utilitarian principles in my reasoning, but in this case I truly believe that going vegetarian, or even vegan, is in the best interests of all!

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  3. Group 1

    FQ: (T/F) Philosophy told Boethius that he could find true happiness in God or goodness. (LH 42)

    FQ: (T/F) Philosophy says that mortals are stuck with one thing happening after another, and this is also how God sees it. (LH 45)

    FQ: Descartes thought human bodies and animal bodies both operated like ______, but human bodies were steered by a soul and animals were not. (P 68)

    FQ: Who claimed that treating animals' interests differently from those of human beings is 'speciesism'? (P 70)

    FQ: Who claimed that the fact that we have an idea of God proves that God actually exists? (LH 46)

    FQ: _______ are people who argue for some form of equality. (P 78)

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  4. Group 2

    FQ: Aquinas relied on the ______ ______ argument to justify his belief in the existence of God

    DQ: Does reverse discrimination serve any practical purpose in promoting equality?

    ReplyDelete

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