The KGB Oracle
Posted By: Mithus Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/20/12 08:14 PM
it's been six months that I became vegan, and I'm trying to bring more arguments to bring more friends to this lifestyle change.

I found an incredible video to take the veil on the subject.
If anyone here know about Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" and then after seeing all video compare to the allegory.


If anyone wants to comment on, at least do me big a favor, watch the whole video and not just a few minutes and I will try to argue.

I'ts a long video, but it is worth of the time watching, for your health, for the planet, for us.

Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 08:10 AM

Well, I did watch the video... yes the whole thing.

I did find it disturbing.. but not because I can find much if any agreement with , but rather that people can actually buy his arguments and incite themselves to extreme actions on behalf of said arguments.

First of all, pigs and cows are not my brothers.

Second of all, omnivore means eating both.. noone ever argued that humans are straight carnivores but he used the fact that humans have some herbivore traits and lack some traits held by pure carnivores that humans arent omnivores.

Thirdly, I see no justification for abandoning human interest for animal interest where the two collide. Because, pigs are in fact not our brothers. This guy talks like self interest is a bad thing. Its really just a faux moralism. Perhaps he does not have the moral courage to address real problems plaguing humans, or maybe he just hates his fellow man and so spends his life advocating nonhuman interests.

Now, dont get me wrong. If someone wants to not eat meat or etc, then by all means. Its your choice what you do, and I have no quarrel with people who live the way they see fit. I have some RL vegan friends.

But people like this, who are willing to perform violence on their fellow man and use force to further his philosophy of anti-humanism just make me sick to me stomach. I have no sympathy for people like this, who would crush the livliehoods of fellow men to satisfy his own desire for self righteousness, especially for such incomprehensible reasons.

I could go on at length, but basically I consider people like this and PETA types in general to simply be self-rationalizing tin-can faux moralist positions for their own self-aggrandizement.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 08:31 AM
Ok, thanks for watching it all.
I'm going to argue with you later all your points.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 09:50 AM
Quote:
First of all, pigs and cows are not my brothers.


You're all right, they are our brothers, they aren't our equals, they are animals, and animals can be property and like property they can be explored to the bone. You are missing one of the many video speech messages that guy is trying to pass, we are conditioned since child to eat meat, milk and use animals for sport and other uses etc. Moral question is this kind of exploitation valid? Some people think it's not, like the abolicionists in the past that tried to argue about slavery, some people try to argue about our current specism, like many “ism” nazism,sexism.


Quote:
Second of all, omnivore means eating both.. noone ever argued that humans are straight carnivores but he used the fact that humans have some herbivore traits and lack some traits held by pure carnivores that humans arent omnivores.


It's an argument used by many vegetarians, it's true that you can have almost a health life eating meat and vegetables, even eating only meat we see people living to the old age. But dont get stuck to this argument, you can have a health life without meat or dairy products too. The real question is the moral question of inflict unecessary pain to animals.



Quote:
Thirdly, I see no justification for abandoning human interest for animal interest where the two collide. Because, pigs are in fact not our brothers. This guy talks like self interest is a bad thing. Its really just a faux moralism. Perhaps he does not have the moral courage to address real problems plaguing humans, or maybe he just hates his fellow man and so spends his life advocating nonhuman interests.

Again, you still trying to justifying saying that animals are not “our brothers”, yes they are inferior to us, so by the logic they can be explored and exploited. Above all meat and dairy products are real problems, earth problems, the amount of land need to feed animals, because we need grains to feed those animals is huge, I know that to have 1kg of meat you need feed 15kg of grains. So from the point of view of problems, eating meat generating a lot of real problems, if the chinese want to eat like americans, you would need 3 planet earths to feed them. The big cause of global warming is not caused by transportation like people think, its caused by all meat,dairy industry that, now we need more soil to plant soy,corn and etc to feed cattle, because it's more 15 times more intensive to feed cattle than to produce the same amount of grains.

Quote:
Now, dont get me wrong. If someone wants to not eat meat or etc, then by all means. Its your choice what you do, and I have no quarrel with people who live the way they see fit. I have some RL vegan friends.


This is a good sign, like the slavery abolicionists from the past, we know have people that think different, I do not know how many centuries and millennia will take to abolish animal use as a thing to be explored, for example we had human slavery for thousand of years, but know we have good things at our side, now we have freedom, education to all and the means to spread the message like internet.


Quote:
But people like this, who are willing to perform violence on their fellow man and use force to further his philosophy of anti-humanism just make me sick to me stomach. I have no sympathy for people like this, who would crush the livliehoods of fellow men to satisfy his own desire for self righteousness, especially for such incomprehensible reasons.

I could go on at length, but basically I consider people like this and PETA types in general to simply be self-rationalizing tin-can faux moralist positions for their own self-aggrandizement.


That guy have all my sympathy, I think he's now around 40, he changed from those acts of the beginning to call attention, those acts are almost innocuous, because people will not change their acts based on those thing, what the guys is doing the best is educating people through speachs in colleges and schools. He's doing great educating.. like you said PETA and others organizations do almost nothing to help the cause.

Watch the questions and answers after the speech, is hilarious he talking about PETA and Pamela Anderson Boobs.



Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 11:04 AM

This guy harms humans to "help" animals. This guy argues for pure altruism, treating animals as greater than humans. He uses force to do it. I consider this completely immoral. Sure, causing pain for the sake of causing pain is contemptible - but using animals to better your life and the life of your family, not so much.

See, he has never said outside of "animals are our brothers" why it should be immoral. I totally get what he is saying, and I get that he is trying to attach an "ism" to it - the problem is he has supplied no justification for doing so. Speciesism should be put on the level of Nazism why? Because he said so?

His arguments are terrible. For example, put a kid in a crib with an rabbit and an apple? Kids that age will try to put anything in their mouth. Also, the rabbit will bite the kid - so its not advisable to actually try the experiment.

Or "dont use tools, dont use fire". And " Humans learn behavior". Well of course we do in both cases - our faculty of reason is what sets us apart. This guy is basically saying " throw away what makes you human, and then you will find humans eat plants". This is so absurd for making a moral argument regarding animals on so many levels it would take 15 pages minimum to begin to explore all the angles of absurdity.

Its not even about being inferior necessarily, theres also the sentience aspect. If a pig wrote me a letter asking not to be eaten, I would consider it.

Again, another fail argument - where he was talking about how the diseases borne by plants come from shit. Well, many do. But he was absolutely lying when he implied that the shit in question came exclusively from industrialized farming. This guy knows dick all about agriculture. Of course if he was educated on how the world actually works, he wouldnt hold these extremist views and expect other humans to follow him on pain of incurring his "righteous wrath".

Whats next for this guy, kill all the humans so animals have their "territory" back? Thats how a lot of PETA people think anyway. These types of people who advocate force to implement their agendas are not good people, and they are not moral people, and they have no case to make that they are standing up for a good cause.

This guy even bashed Descartes, who is considered one of the greatest thinkers of all time - by using irrational arguments, unfounded assertions, straw men and red herring comments.

Also, the argument about how much animals eat and it is supposedly inefficient is a simplistic argument, that does not cover a great many cases - and in any case is completely irrelevant to the morality issue of eating animals and using animals. "Global Warming" and the danger it does or does not pose, and causes thereof are a different topic altogether and should be treated separately or the thread will go hopelessly off topic.

Lastly, he fails to make a case for why the well being of animals should be more important than the well being of humans. To put it in context, think of the well being of your own children or family. Would you seriously deny your children a better life due to the feelings of a cow or pig?
Posted By: Donkleaps Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 11:47 AM
Being a vegan and living your life how you see fit is all good and well but this crap is just plain nuts.
Posted By: Tasorin Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 02:15 PM
I wonder if he smells his own farts?
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 03:35 PM
Quote:
This guy harms humans to "help" animals. This guy argues for pure altruism, treating animals as greater than humans. He uses force to do it. I consider this completely immoral. Sure, causing pain for the sake of causing pain is contemptible - but using animals to better your life and the life of your family, not so much.


I dont understanding what are you saying, where/when hes causing pain to humans? If I understand in the beggining of his activism he caused financial damage to producers, other than this nothing was caused or is caused by him, in fact to not consume animal products is better economically is healther to your familiy, because is less resource intensive to produce grains, that the same amount of meat.

Quote:
See, he has never said outside of "animals are our brothers" why it should be immoral. I totally get what he is saying, and I get that he is trying to attach an "ism" to it - the problem is he has supplied no justification for doing so. Speciesism should be put on the level of Nazism why? Because he said so?


One thing because humans have been eating animals for thousand of years. The fact that we have been doing something for a long times does not make it morally right, Humans have been racist and sexist for centuries and we now recognize that racism and sexism are morally wrong.

Quote:
His arguments are terrible. For example, put a kid in a crib with an rabbit and an apple? Kids that age will try to put anything in their mouth. Also, the rabbit will bite the kid - so its not advisable to actually try the experiment.Or "dont use tools, dont use fire". And " Humans learn behavior". Well of course we do in both cases - our faculty of reason is what sets us apart. This guy is basically saying " throw away what makes you human, and then you will find humans eat plants". This is so absurd for making a moral argument regarding animals on so many levels it would take 15 pages minimum to begin to explore all the angles of absurdity.


His argument is only to try to illustrate that we are not naturally eat meaters, like monkey ancestors that were mostly vegetarians. We do not have the natural tools, like mandibules and claws and etcs.. so to sum up is not our natural “nature” to eat milk after been baby e do not need cow milk to survive or to be health. We are brain washed since child to behave according to the majority.

Quote:
Its not even about being inferior necessarily, theres also the sentience aspect. If a pig wrote me a letter asking not to be eaten, I would consider it.


I do not see a logic, it's a moral question, I do not see damage on people eating meat when they have no other option for their survival, we have the choice and the knowlodge to feed healthier and again cheaper, but we for convenience, taste, tradition and etc.. we choose to eat from animals, to cause pain and suffering, do say me that the cow , day by day milk is sucked from their tits is a pleasure to them, we are causing animal pain for our pleasure, and just ignoring this fact.


Quote:
Again, another fail argument - where he was talking about how the diseases borne by plants come from shit. Well, many do. But he was absolutely lying when he implied that the shit in question came exclusively from industrialized farming. This guy knows dick all about agriculture. Of course if he was educated on how the world actually works, he wouldnt hold these extremist views and expect other humans to follow him on pain of incurring his "righteous wrath".


You are again failling to the arguments, usually you will not hear that a guy had a heart attack or other desease from being a vegetarian, like he said others factors include like alchool,stress, drugs. But you see a lot of health problems caused by meat and fat->dairy diet. Why he's an extremist I don't get it. Hes teaching people another reasonable view of our habits towards the use of animals.

Quote:
Whats next for this guy, kill all the humans so animals have their "territory" back? Thats how a lot of PETA people think anyway. These types of people who advocate force to implement their agendas are not good people, and they are not moral people, and they have no case to make that they are standing up for a good cause.


You are been irrational for those arguments, your health will be not decreased, your human enviroment will be be not depleted, in fact it will be inverse.

Quote:
This guy even bashed Descartes, who is considered one of the greatest thinkers of all time - by using irrational arguments, unfounded assertions, straw men and red herring comments.


We can feed people well and healther, without resort to billions of animal killing every year
Irrational is what are we doing to the planet, we are consuming too much milk and meat for detrimental of our health and planet resources, the amount of deforastion that is taking place in Brazil to plant soy to feed cattle is imense.


Quote:
Also, the argument about how much animals eat and it is supposedly inefficient is a simplistic argument, that does not cover a great many cases - and in any case is completely irrelevant to the morality issue of eating animals and using animals. "Global Warming" and the danger it does or does not pose, and causes thereof are a different topic altogether and should be treated separately or the thread will go hopelessly off topic.


It's not a assumption, is fact that to produce 1kg of meat is more resource intensive that produce 1kg of vegetables(Around 15 times more intensive). And countries like Brazil are deforesting all forest to produce more grains to feed for cattle. While you can believe that this not affect you in USA it does, we are in the same planet, if we take out amazon forest to plant soy to feed cattle it will have a global impact. While you cannot think like that meat is a luxury, again, if the east countries(india,china and etcs) begin to eat like eurpeans and americans we will need 3 another planet earths.

Quote:
Lastly, he fails to make a case for why the well being of animals should be more important than the well being of humans. To put it in context, think of the well being of your own children or family. Would you seriously deny your children a better life due to the feelings of a cow or pig?


Again, not eating meat is less expensive and more healthier, you still blinded by what you want to see. Honestly I always had eat meat and dairy products/eggs, I always had a common sense that I knew about vegetables products and fruits being healther than meat/milk, After I grow up, I always had the moral awareness that delicious beef steak was with the pain of an animal that was slaved to that I had that delicous pleasure of taste. After many years of just ignoring the true, and inventing excuses like you are inventing, I realize that was not morally right what I was doing.
It's more health and economical advantagous to me do not eat meat and dairy products, I will be saving money in the future, and morally, I do not help to kill animals for my sake of taste. Because there are plenty of alternatives to meat/milk/eggs products.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 03:41 PM
Originally Posted By: Donkleaps
Being a vegan and living your life how you see fit is all good and well but this crap is just plain nuts.


Quote:
I wonder if he smells his own farts?


That is the way to go, tell that someone is nuts and crazy and to mock. You guys can be more intelligent than that I know that you are being only lazy or do not have time to waste on this matter.

It's like an heresy to a texan guy like Donk or to many americans imagine their life wihout hambuerger and cheese.

I do not blame anyone, I ate hamburger and pizza almost a big part of my life. But I always had a clear picture of the moral question of killing the animals for it and the health aspect. But for that time i decided that my pleasure of taste was more important than the moral aspect and my health.

I never thought or called anyone crazy,nuts or mocked because they choose to do so, for morally questions and etcs.. Because if they choosed so, good for them.
Posted By: Tasorin Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 06:10 PM
Smelling his own farts is a reference to a South Park episode in which Prius owners who act like total douche bags because they feel superior to anyone who isn't driving a Prius, actually smell there own farts...

Domesticated animals, born, bread, and managed as a food source is a different application of humanity asserting itself as the Alpha Predator on top of the food chain. Not wanting to have animals suffer so that we can eat meat is an ideological agenda developed in the new age by individuals who would have us eating dandy lions and bark if they could.

Here is what I say to people when they say "Meat is murder, and you are a heathen for killing something that was a living animal." Hey dumbie, so what is your definition of "living"? Is not a plant that has cellular structure, and has a life cycle of birth, substance, growth, reproduction, and death, not a living thing as well? Does not a plant eat using the suns energy and convert that energy via photosynthesis into life giving "food" which allows it to continue through it's life cycle. How do you know that the piece of lettuce or radish you are eating right now didn't scream in agony as it was pulled from the ground and had its life cycle ended, mush like the cow that goes to the slaughter house...
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 06:40 PM
Originally Posted By: Tasorin

Here is what I say to people when they say "Meat is murder, and you are a heathen for killing something that was a living animal." Hey dumbie, so what is your definition of "living"? Is not a plant that has cellular structure, and has a life cycle of birth, substance, growth, reproduction, and death, not a living thing as well? Does not a plant eat using the suns energy and convert that energy via photosynthesis into life giving "food" which allows it to continue through it's life cycle. How do you know that the piece of lettuce or radish you are eating right now didn't scream in agony as it was pulled from the ground and had its life cycle ended, mush like the cow that goes to the slaughter house...


that's is a very easy question... you do not have to wonder anything, is just sciency.. Plants do not have a nervous system.

Quote:
How Do You Vegans Justify Killing Plants When They’re Living Things, Too?”

As I’ve always stated around here, I’m up for spirited debate, and I don’t mind anyone challenging my life philosophies. This is how we all continue to evolve. Occasionally, however, these “challenges” can get pretty ridiculous… almost as if the “challenger” is grasping for ANY kind of clever, unassailable theory that will somehow render an entire way of living as invalid.

In the world of Witty But Asinine Retorts to Veganism, there are a few that, unfortunately, will not go away. Heading this list would have to be the truly pathetic, “But Hitler was a vegetarian, so what does that say about your movement?” (By the way, Hitler was a far fucking cry from being veggie, as his diet included steady rations of Bavarian sausage, liver dumplings, ham, and squab. The vegetarian myth was just another calculated part of his manufactured public image as a “revolutionary ascetic.”)

A close second would probably be the the good ol’ plants-are-living-things-too retort, which usually unfolds something like this: “You talk about having a diet and lifestyle where you avoid killing any living thing. But what about plants? Plants are living things and you kill them.”

I hadn’t actually heard this one in a while… until its bell was sounded in a New York Times article from last week entitled, “Sorry, Vegans: Brussels Sprouts Like to Live, Too.” Predictably, the author seemed to be making a case about the futility of being vegan, since we were doomed to eat plants, and plants want to live as much as any animal does. In other words, if we’re all destined to be murderers anyway, what difference does it make who or what we’re murdering, be it plant or animal?

Of course, in the article’s first paragraph, the author also admits to her own ethical quandaries and resultant dietary inconsistencies (omitting pork and “mammalian” meat, but not birds, fish or dairy). Whatever. I only bring up this point because these kind of lame-ass arguments are usually presented as much for the benefit of the questioner (in rationalizing their choices), as they are for those being asked the question.

Are Plants Living Things?

Okay, to be fair, let me draw a line in the sand on the subject. I think the concept of plants as living things is legitimate and fascinating. Yes, of course they’re living things. In fact, from the perspective of quantum physics, there is nothing in our three-dimensional world of matter that is not “living” on some level, including water, stones and computer screens. Everything is energy, as they say, vibrating at various rates of speed. And for those growing, expanding, self-propagating things – like fruit, veggies, algae and bacteria – there are varying degrees of intelligence involved so they may live, develop and evolve within their respective environs. Having built-in defense mechanisms to this end is obviously part of Mother Nature’s master plan.

This makes sense for all of us because, remember, if it weren’t for all of these plants and trees swapping out carbon dioxide for oxygen, humans and animals wouldn’t even be around. So, yes, Brussels sprouts and all other forms of veggies, fruits, grains and various plant-life are designed to thrive and survive… apparently for both their benefit and ours. (Also, is it any coincidence that the same antioxidants in plant-foods that help them survive in the wild, are also of immeasurable benefit to our survival when we ingest them?)

However, it’s quite a leap to automatically surmise that a plant’s survival mechanism is parallel to that of an animal’s. This is why you will often hear the word “sentient” used to describe the kind of living beings who we vegans wish to safeguard with our food, clothing and lifestyle choices. Simply put, a sentient being – like a chicken, cow or cockroach – is one whose cognitive faculties are such that they can clearly feel pain, discern survival conditions, have specific preferences, express some degree of emotion, etc. For these reasons, sentient beings operate from a more evolved level of consciousness than plant life. And, to me, the ultimate built-in criteria to define this really starts with that all-important question:

Do Plants Feel Pain?

The answer is no, and I’ll give you three good reasons why they do not:

* Scientifically speaking, a plant-based food is not a sentient being, does not have an innate, emotional inclination to avoid bodily harm or death (in the same way that animals do), does not have a nervous system, and, therefore, is not even designed to process the sensation of pain.

* Philosophically speaking, it’s safe to say that Mother Nature, in her infinite wisdom, would never bestow upon a living creature the capacity to feel pain without also giving him or her the ability to engage in a fight or flight response to the imminent threat or actual experience of pain.

* Practically speaking, I’ve yet to see any irate celery stalks or bell peppers jump up from the cutting board and run out of my kitchen lately. Such is clearly not the case with the 50-plus billion farm animals around the world who meet their fate in the slaughterhouse every year.

So, please… to all intelligent folks out there wishing to challenge the merits of veganism, let’s at least put this one to rest, shall we?


My Job

I understand that veganism often appears to be the ultimate “inconvenient truth” to those considering its comparatively rigid parameters. And I understand that it’s human nature to find that loophole – that flawed piece of an otherwise logical puzzle – that enables us to dismiss the whole of something as quackery, so we can throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. I get that. So my job, in part, is to illuminate the flaws in some of these whacked-out perceptions so that people can make more informed decisions. What someone chooses to do from there is, as usual, their choice.

Finally…

Now, after all of this plants-are-living-things stuff, if you’re still on a mission to save as many plants as possible from the ravages of the dinner table and feel that eating dead animals is somehow serving that end, remember: we are currently feeding about 80-plus% of many of the crops we grow in the world to farm animals. So by eating animal products, you are actually causing the “death” of even more plants (to say nothing of animals), since we feed a disproportionate amount of plant foods to animals, relative to what they yield to humans in the form of food.

The irony here is that, by trying to use this killing plants argument as a case against veganism, it’s actually making more of a case for it.

Just a little more food for thought…
Posted By: Helemoto Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 07:02 PM
When all the animals of the world come together and find peace with each other, when the bear stops eating the salmon and the wolf stops eating the deer, I will think about not eating meat.

Now you all made me hungry, I am going to go buy a flat iron steak and grill it to medium well and toast my fallen enemy the Black Angus.
Posted By: Tasorin Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 07:34 PM
I am calling bullshit on the science rebuttal. Whomever was quoted as giving the rebuttal refers to "We Vegans". The use of "we" self identifies the speaker as a Vegan and is justifying rebuttal to the position that a plant is not "Sentient" therefor it is not considered "Living" as part of this discussion.

I would argue that with domestication and the continued breeding of livestock to be passive would qualify as the same reasoning for "Sentient". The goes on to further say that "Sentient" as well refers to "Self sustaining survival" as part of "Sentient" and since lettuce and carrots don't try and run away or grow spikes to defend themselves from being killed, they are not living.

Domesticated Livestock fall into that same category then. Cows are bout the stupidest livestock on the freaking planet. They know how to eat, crap, sleep, procreate, and nurture their young. They don't have the common animal instincts anymore for pure survival of there native species because it has been breed out of them. They are kept in fields with simple cattle crossings because most livestock isn't smart enough to figure out how to beat simple gaps in grate in order to just walk out of the pasture.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 08:25 PM

Quote:
I am calling bullshit on the science rebuttal. Whomever was quoted as giving the rebuttal refers to "We Vegans". The use of "we" self identifies the speaker as a Vegan and is justifying rebuttal to the position that a plant is not "Sentient" therefor it is not considered "Living" as part of this discussion.


I do not see where this will go, What matters plant are not sentient, they do not feel pain or pleasure, they are living thing yes.

Quote:
I would argue that with domestication and the continued breeding of livestock to be passive would qualify as the same reasoning for "Sentient". The goes on to further say that "Sentient" as well refers to "Self sustaining survival" as part of "Sentient" and since lettuce and carrots don't try and run away or grow spikes to defend themselves from being killed, they are not living.

Domesticated Livestock fall into that same category then. Cows are bout the stupidest livestock on the freaking planet. They know how to eat, crap, sleep, procreate, and nurture their young. They don't have the common animal instincts anymore for pure survival of there native species because it has been breed out of them. They are kept in fields with simple cattle crossings because most livestock isn't smart enough to figure out how to beat simple gaps in grate in order to just walk out of the pasture.


Do you have any scientific or at least anyone that can argue too that cattle become dumb because human raised them over time and their nervous system become inoperant and they do not feel pain or pleasure anymore?
I do not think that is relevant to vegan cause if cattle is dumb or not, what is again the cause is the unecessary suffering caused by eating meat and the waste of resources to produce them, when there are other options more healther and cheaper.

ps: Dolphins considered one of most bright animals do not jump nets when people are trying to capture them, I do not see a point on your argument, and sentient if you look at wiki or any other source is used many time to context animal rights.
Posted By: Tasorin Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 09:12 PM
I am sorry Mithus, I am not going to debate PETA talking points.

It's like playing high stakes texas hold'em with someone who doesn't know how to play poker. You can't bluff someone who isn't savvy enough to know they are being bluffed.

How do scientists know that on a cellular level plants don't "feel"? Quite frankly its justification for an agenda. Ir isn't they are against killing things, its that they have decided that hunter portion of our nature in "Hunter/Gatherer" is now not socially acceptable to them and in a right to push your beliefs on other people society we live in, now is the time for their agenda.

Meat is evil, Vegans are superior.
Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 09:51 PM
Originally Posted By: Mithus
Quote:
This guy harms humans to "help" animals. This guy argues for pure altruism, treating animals as greater than humans. He uses force to do it. I consider this completely immoral. Sure, causing pain for the sake of causing pain is contemptible - but using animals to better your life and the life of your family, not so much.


I dont understanding what are you saying, where/when hes causing pain to humans? If I understand in the beggining of his activism he caused financial damage to producers, other than this nothing was caused or is caused by him, in fact to not consume animal products is better economically is healther to your familiy, because is less resource intensive to produce grains, that the same amount of meat.


Yes, I consider causing financial damage to producers evil. I dont think their kids should starve or go poor because this guy wants to get his self-rightious jollies off.

Quote:
See, he has never said outside of "animals are our brothers" why it should be immoral. I totally get what he is saying, and I get that he is trying to attach an "ism" to it - the problem is he has supplied no justification for doing so. Speciesism should be put on the level of Nazism why? Because he said so?


One thing because humans have been eating animals for thousand of years. The fact that we have been doing something for a long times does not make it morally right, Humans have been racist and sexist for centuries and we now recognize that racism and sexism are morally wrong.

You are technically correct, but neither yourself nor CrazyGuy have MADE A CASE for why it IS immoral. You are just making some assumption that it is.

Quote:
His arguments are terrible. For example, put a kid in a crib with an rabbit and an apple? Kids that age will try to put anything in their mouth. Also, the rabbit will bite the kid - so its not advisable to actually try the experiment.Or "dont use tools, dont use fire". And " Humans learn behavior". Well of course we do in both cases - our faculty of reason is what sets us apart. This guy is basically saying " throw away what makes you human, and then you will find humans eat plants". This is so absurd for making a moral argument regarding animals on so many levels it would take 15 pages minimum to begin to explore all the angles of absurdity.


His argument is only to try to illustrate that we are not naturally eat meaters, like monkey ancestors that were mostly vegetarians. We do not have the natural tools, like mandibules and claws and etcs.. so to sum up is not our natural “nature” to eat milk after been baby e do not need cow milk to survive or to be health. We are brain washed since child to behave according to the majority.
Our faculty of reason,intellect, and our opposable thumbs ARE our natural tools. This guy has utterly failed in his analysis of our natural tools, thats my point. Not having the same digestive tract as a coyote does NOT mean we dont eat meat.

Quote:
Its not even about being inferior necessarily, theres also the sentience aspect. If a pig wrote me a letter asking not to be eaten, I would consider it.


I do not see a logic, it's a moral question, I do not see damage on people eating meat when they have no other option for their survival, we have the choice and the knowlodge to feed healthier and again cheaper, but we for convenience, taste, tradition and etc.. we choose to eat from animals, to cause pain and suffering, do say me that the cow , day by day milk is sucked from their tits is a pleasure to them, we are causing animal pain for our pleasure, and just ignoring this fact.
Morality springs from logic, and his attempt to separate logic and reason from morality is why I find him so utterly repulsive and evil. You ought to read Descartes before you buy this guys crap. And Kant and Hume and etc http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/

Trying to separate morality from reason never goes anywhere good. This guy is arguing that morality is based on emotion. Emotion is not a basis for morality, and trying to use it as such is in fact something a base animal would do. Its a dark side of human nature, not the enlightened side.


Quote:
Again, another fail argument - where he was talking about how the diseases borne by plants come from shit. Well, many do. But he was absolutely lying when he implied that the shit in question came exclusively from industrialized farming. This guy knows dick all about agriculture. Of course if he was educated on how the world actually works, he wouldnt hold these extremist views and expect other humans to follow him on pain of incurring his "righteous wrath".


You are again failling to the arguments, usually you will not hear that a guy had a heart attack or other desease from being a vegetarian, like he said others factors include like alchool,stress, drugs. But you see a lot of health problems caused by meat and fat->dairy diet. Why he's an extremist I don't get it. Hes teaching people another reasonable view of our habits towards the use of animals.

Usually? You and he are confusing proper production of meat, with the state of our current industry. Some aspects of our current meat industry are inarguably imperfect and less than optimally healthy. However, that says nothing about the concept of eating meat in of itself. Some facts for you:
On my moms side of the family, which comes from a rural area which in fact has raised its own meat for hundreds of years- the average lifespan ( yes average) is about 95 years. My grandparents generation of people in the area and extended family live/lived to be between 87 and 102 years old. And they eat/ate home raised milk products and pork and beef EVERY SINGLE DAY.

They also didnt eat it as a luxury. This guys arguments about the inherent health benefits and economics of meat as blanket statements are utter bullshit, and completely unfounded assertions. I can guarantee that from personal experience.


Quote:
Whats next for this guy, kill all the humans so animals have their "territory" back? Thats how a lot of PETA people think anyway. These types of people who advocate force to implement their agendas are not good people, and they are not moral people, and they have no case to make that they are standing up for a good cause.


You are been irrational for those arguments, your health will be not decreased, your human enviroment will be be not depleted, in fact it will be inverse.

I have not been irrational in the slightest, rather the PETA side has yet to concoct one single sound argument. Yet the PETA people will harm other humans and be general nuisances despite not having any sound arguments. The core of PETA belief is based on emotion.

Quote:
This guy even bashed Descartes, who is considered one of the greatest thinkers of all time - by using irrational arguments, unfounded assertions, straw men and red herring comments.


We can feed people well and healther, without resort to billions of animal killing every year
Irrational is what are we doing to the planet, we are consuming too much milk and meat for detrimental of our health and planet resources, the amount of deforastion that is taking place in Brazil to plant soy to feed cattle is imense.

See, this is a different issue. Perhaps what is happening in Brazil is coloring your perception. Maybe what is happening in Brazil is not good. I dont know, I dont live in Brazil or follow it too closely. Perhaps the people who are growing meat in Brazil are in fact locally detrimental. If so, by all means oppose them and what they are doing. But do it on the basis of the harm they are actually doing.... no need to use emotion as faux basis for logic. You will get a lot further with that.



Quote:
Also, the argument about how much animals eat and it is supposedly inefficient is a simplistic argument, that does not cover a great many cases - and in any case is completely irrelevant to the morality issue of eating animals and using animals. "Global Warming" and the danger it does or does not pose, and causes thereof are a different topic altogether and should be treated separately or the thread will go hopelessly off topic.


It's not a assumption, is fact that to produce 1kg of meat is more resource intensive that produce 1kg of vegetables(Around 15 times more intensive). And countries like Brazil are deforesting all forest to produce more grains to feed for cattle. While you can believe that this not affect you in USA it does, we are in the same planet, if we take out amazon forest to plant soy to feed cattle it will have a global impact. While you cannot think like that meat is a luxury, again, if the east countries(india,china and etcs) begin to eat like eurpeans and americans we will need 3 another planet earths.

Like I said, lets keep the global warning crap to a different thread. But on the meat topic, it is not inherently necessary to raise grain to eat meat. In fact some farmers naturally graze animals. You are talking about the individual techniques for raising meat, which is DIFFERENT than poor ranching tactics being INHERENT in eating of meat.

This is yet another example of why people who discard logic and argue on the basis of emotion are so frustrating.

Anyone with a simple grounding in logic inherently understands that just because one method or type of cattle ranching may arguably be overall detrimental, DOES NOT IN ANY WAY create a case that ALL MEAT detrimental.

People raised and lived off of animals for thousands of years because when done properly, they in fact add quite a bit of economic efficiency. Pigs for example are one of the best examples of natural recycling.



Quote:
Lastly, he fails to make a case for why the well being of animals should be more important than the well being of humans. To put it in context, think of the well being of your own children or family. Would you seriously deny your children a better life due to the feelings of a cow or pig?


Again, not eating meat is less expensive and more healthier, you still blinded by what you want to see. Honestly I always had eat meat and dairy products/eggs, I always had a common sense that I knew about vegetables products and fruits being healther than meat/milk, After I grow up, I always had the moral awareness that delicious beef steak was with the pain of an animal that was slaved to that I had that delicous pleasure of taste. After many years of just ignoring the true, and inventing excuses like you are inventing, I realize that was not morally right what I was doing.
It's more health and economical advantagous to me do not eat meat and dairy products, I will be saving money in the future, and morally, I do not help to kill animals for my sake of taste. Because there are plenty of alternatives to meat/milk/eggs products.


You have yet to produce a single argument based on rationality or reason, and dare to accuse me of seeing only what I want to see? That sir, takes a lot of chutzpah.

You have not even tried to argue why, logically, using animals is immoral. When that is pointed out, you avoid addressing it and swerve off into some unfounded assumptions about the health of eating animal products. Then in the same breath accuse me of seeing only what I want to see.

I honestly hope you decide to allow yourself to engage is some reflection, and see what is wrong with that.

Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 09:57 PM
to Tasorin... ps: I will still read the derid post.

I watch quite astonished your arguments,

cammon you are a intelligent man, you work for a good company, we know how clever you are.

You still dennies with this quite dumb argument about how we know plants do not feel at celular level.. omg, cammon!!

One thing is just say and act:
I know that eat meat/milk causes pain and suffering for those animals treated like things to be explored. But they are animals they are inferior to us, and my pleasure,taste,convinience is more important than animal raised to be food, overall they are just property.

And other thing is dening the true, I would bet a thousand dollars that you would not denie those afirmation, unlike other KGB members here.

And I ate meat and milk I always know that was true, but I didnt care enough, for the animals or for my overall health. At least accept that. Also I do not blame anyone for eat meat, is their choice, but It's clear to me now after 30 years eating meat, that the option of being vegetarian is better to me. For 30 years I eat meat and milk and I do not know why a feel somehow guilty for it, but it was good, I didnt to have to kill personally every day a cow, that I do not consider different from a dog. So it was convenient to me. The idea of eating only vegetable and fruits and juice was somehow horrible to me, but I never denied the moral question.
Posted By: Tasorin Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 10:50 PM
I get paid to fight moot points.

I have an opposiable(sp) digit, walk upright, the ability to reason and use tools. That makes us top of the food chain and the digestive capability to be an omnivore.

Everything beyond that is what you want to believe in.

If you believe that eating meat is bad because a sentient creature had to die, then more power to you.

I choose to believe that the same principal applies to the plant kingdom. Those who would eschew my belief are driven by a skewed perception in which the only right answer is one that agrees with their side of the discussion.

I would agree that creatures harvested for substantive consumption do suffer some form of "pain" at the moment there life is ended. I would argue that specimens in the plant kingdom have suffered the same "pain" from being domesticated, driven to grow in a conformative way, and then harvested for consumption.

Who are we to decide and define what is and isn't "alive" and what is and isn't "Sentient".
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 11:06 PM
Tas
Yeah I do not believe that you think really like this, comparing a mammal with nervous system to a plant/virus/bacteria. I feel that I know a little bit about your ego and you do not want to concede :D

Is there any difference to you to eat a dog or cow? just out of curiosity.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/21/12 11:45 PM
Quote:
Yes, I consider causing financial damage to producers evil. I dont think their kids should starve or go poor because this guy wants to get his self-rightious jollies off
.

Ok, let's get over this point, I do not approve or think it's right to damage any other people property and this is not what I want to discuss. You are right about this point.


Quote:
You are technically correct, but neither yourself nor CrazyGuy have MADE A CASE for why it IS immoral. You are just making some assumption that it is.


If you have time and when you have time and thinks that is interesting to know about those crazy people that are vegans I will put a link for the immoral raised question.


Quote:
Our faculty of reason,intellect, and our opposable thumbs ARE our natural tools. This guy has utterly failed in his analysis of our natural tools, thats my point. Not having the same digestive tract as a coyote does NOT mean we dont eat meat.


This is another point that I do not see a point on this and I agree with you to some degree, we can eat meat and vegetable and period. The fact that he tries to argument that is because some people think that is our nature to eat meat and milk and to some people to not eat milk or meat is like an aberration and you will die, like you said about the detriment of your children because you would not give them cow milk or pig meat, when You can actualy raise kids healther give them vegetable milk and fruits.


Quote:
Morality springs from logic, and his attempt to separate logic and reason from morality is why I find him so utterly repulsive and evil. You ought to read Descartes before you buy this guys crap. And Kant and Hume and etc http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/
Trying to separate morality from reason never goes anywhere good. This guy is arguing that morality is based on emotion. Emotion is not a basis for morality, and trying to use it as such is in fact something a base animal would do. Its a dark side of human nature, not the enlightened side.


Why did you the white guys from USA had free your slaves or declared all humans to have basic rights? Enlight-me about moral/reason/emotion about the subject if you can in a few words. I really didnt understand the point and all is back to moral question.

Quote:
Usually? You and he are confusing proper production of meat, with the state of our current industry. Some aspects of our current meat industry are inarguably imperfect and less than optimally healthy. However, that says nothing about the concept of eating meat in of itself. Some facts for you:
On my moms side of the family, which comes from a rural area which in fact has raised its own meat for hundreds of years- the average lifespan ( yes average) is about 95 years. My grandparents generation of people in the area and extended family live/lived to be between 87 and 102 years old. And they eat/ate home raised milk products and pork and beef EVERY SINGLE DAY.
They also didnt eat it as a luxury. This guys arguments about the inherent health benefits and economics of meat as blanket statements are utter bullshit, and completely unfounded assertions. I can guarantee that from personal experience.



I know how is a farm I spend many vacation days on a farm when I were a kid, the cousin of my dad had a farm. I can say for sure that there is a combination of factor, but all male familiars here were dead before 65 years old from heart deseases, they didnt eat almost any vegetables at all, they all eat milk and meat daily and didnt exercice enough, and let the others do the job and had employes to do all farm work. I guess your grandparents really worked there, different from big land owners of farms here in Brazil.

And yes meat is a luxury for 70% of world population in cities where most people of the world lives, unlike your grandparents. To feed 300 million americans that way and for the price that you pay today you cannot imagine have old way farms, and the true is most of productives farms are factories. Not the old way that you grandparents did the thing, it's unreal to think that you can feed 300 hundred million americans with conventional farming. Again I do not think this is the real point, lets go back to the moral question that you raised.

Quote:
I have not been irrational in the slightest, rather the PETA side has yet to concoct one single sound argument. Yet the PETA people will harm other humans and be general nuisances despite not having any sound arguments. The core of PETA belief is based on emotion.

I do not know how PETA operate, but you spent any time about the question raised vegans are pretty reasonable. I'm going to put a link about a plamphet and when you have time please read the short text.


Quote:
See, this is a different issue. Perhaps what is happening in Brazil is coloring your perception. Maybe what is happening in Brazil is not good. I dont know, I dont live in Brazil or follow it too closely. Perhaps the people who are growing meat in Brazil are in fact locally detrimental. If so, by all means oppose them and what they are doing. But do it on the basis of the harm they are actually doing.... no need to use emotion as faux basis for logic. You will get a lot further with that.


You have to think global, the soybean produced here do not go for the consume in Brazil, it goes to be exported to feed cattle in another countries, the government to not interferes about if you are going to export your product to another country as the same I think to USA. So the world needs more grains to feed the raise the production of meat,milk and eggs. What brings more pressure on our resources, and to the point of producing meat is more resource intensive that producing the some amount of grains that would feed people directly, one of the argument of vegans. It's cheaper to feed people with vegetables than with meat.


Quote:
Like I said, lets keep the global warning crap to a different thread. But on the meat topic, it is not inherently necessary to raise grain to eat meat. In fact some farmers naturally graze animals. You are talking about the individual techniques for raising meat, which is DIFFERENT than poor ranching tactics being INHERENT in eating of meat.
This is yet another example of why people who discard logic and argue on the basis of emotion are so frustrating.
Anyone with a simple grounding in logic inherently understands that just because one method or type of cattle ranching may arguably be overall detrimental, DOES NOT IN ANY WAY create a case that ALL MEAT detrimental.
People raised and lived off of animals for thousands of years because when done properly, they in fact add quite a bit of economic efficiency. Pigs for example are one of the best examples of natural recycling.


What is the logic that is being discarded, saying that is more efficient to feed people with grains that to feed people with meat that uses grains, USA is the world first producer of soybean followed by Brazil, and almost all of it is used to feed cattle.


Quote:
You have yet to produce a single argument based on rationality or reason, and dare to accuse me of seeing only what I want to see? That sir, takes a lot of chutzpah.

You have not even tried to argue why, logically, using animals is immoral. When that is pointed out, you avoid addressing it and swerve off into some unfounded assumptions about the health of eating animal products. Then in the same breath accuse me of seeing only what I want to see.

I honestly hope you decide to allow yourself to engage is some reflection, and see what is wrong with that.



There is nothing wrong, it's all reasonable, I will not right myself a wall of text, but if you have time to read an article from a professor maybe I can explan about morals that you ask me:

The abolitionist aproach
Posted By: Helemoto Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 01:10 AM
The US way of farming and raising cattle may be different then how you do it in Brazil.

Most cattle are raised on grasses and hay. Here in Nebraska they are feed corn not as a main source of food but as a supplement. In fact The Great State of Nebraska produces 300 lbs of corn for every person in the US, so we do not have a lack of corn. Soybeans are not in short supply as we export 1/3 of what we produce. And lets not go into the federal government paying farmers not to produce grain crops.

We have whole factorys that do nothing but process pigs for Japan.

My grandfather died well into his 80s and he was a farmer, and I can tell you he didn't eat like a vegan.

Posted By: Wolfgang Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 01:23 AM
What about the animals that would eat humans? Is that guy in the video going to lecture them about not eating humans?

Everything has a purpose, if all animals we simply put on this earth to live such as us, then why are their bodies viable for us to eat?

Does this also mean you will not take any medications and such that come from animals in one form or another? I personally think that guy is a self righteous crack job. But each to their own!
Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 02:50 AM

Mithus, you are confusing the efficiency argument with the morality argument. That is the biggest problem with your approach.

If you want to talk about whether the current paradigm of industrial animal farming makes economic sense, then a discussion can be had. It is true that there are segments of the industry that are inefficient, simply because the overall cost structure allows them to be.

Its your abolitionist/moral approach that fails and makes no sense.

I read the PDF you linked, and AGAIN - the writer says that " The position of the animal rights people is that we have no moral justification for using animals" etc etc... yet supplies no logic on why that should be the case. He says moral significance is independent of cognitive abilities.. but yet again gives no indication on WHY that should be the case.

Its all just how these people "feel" about the matter.

They try to assert that

1) animals have natural rights

2) that humans are morally wrong to deny animals of those natural rights

all without ever explaining why the animals have such rights, let alone why humans should face consequences for abrogating those rights.

Theyre stated purpose is to outlaw using animals. In other words they want to use the force of govt , guns and batons and jails, to ultimately enforce their "feelings" on the rest of mankind. I find this completely abhorrent and utterly despicable.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 05:35 AM
Derid I do not need say to you what is the moral justification for some people this X is right and some people think that Y is right.. repeating for 10th time now.. Moral justification is: inflicting unecessary pain on animals. If you do not understading what this implies ask your RL friends vegans that you know.

I really loved this quoted sentence:

"And I understand that it’s human nature to find that loophole – that flawed piece of an otherwise logical puzzle – that enables us to dismiss the whole of something as quackery, so we can throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. I get that."



As people from 2 centuries ago didnt think that they have the right to own a slave, they think they were morally right and the same goes to other things that at time think as morally right for some many people..it was morally right that women should not have any rights to vote, history show that morals change with time.

I think the some of all of vegans think that enslave an animal to suck heir tits for like 7 years that is around what a milk cow producing lifespan and then using it to produce hambuger is morally not right.. i think this is the argument.. sounds not logic to you?

Also I'm not confunsing morality with efficiency.
Both are 2 different arguments used by vegans

It's several times more efficency to produce 1kg of assorted grains/vegetables/fruits than to produce the not grazzed cattle. Of course it's easier to produce cattle if he just eat bush, but I do not see the billions of chickens eating bush, they eat ration. So if you see the whole video you know how factory farm chickens act, and what they do to them to not canibalize themselves there.

Another thing you guys do not realize, is not that so few people that are adopting vegan style, for example here in Brazil a gov. company that I work and employs a good number of people, in the lunch you have the option to eat "VEGAN" food, soybean "hamburgers" and many options that do no use animal source as food. I'm sure that USA you have restaurants that have this option. The movment of vegans has few people but is growing, 10 years ago if I heard the word vegan I would not have a clue..

I see that is just the begining of jorney that many of you will think that is crazyness, but it's not, like some of you know, I'm taking law school here, the college put an discipline obrigatory: environmental sciences for law school.. I think what the time I saw this as obrigatory .. wtf.-> enviromental science for Law school as obrigatory.. guess what you had to hear for like hours about how meat producing is resource intensive and etcs.. etcs.. how water intensive is to produce 1KGB of meat from (chickesn,pigs,cows etcs) who teached us in the college this discipline: a PhD in Environmental Science

Wolfgand and Helemoto, animal agriculture is a enviromental disaster, and I learned that from this professor above in the college backed up by science, I'm not inventing things, the vegans are not inventing things, I was obliged to course this discipline and overall was after I coursed it I think it was worth of the time, because I learned things that I never thought before..



Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 06:49 AM

"Derid I do not need say to you what is the moral justification for some people this X is right and some people think that Y is right.. repeating for 10th time now.. Moral justification is: inflicting unecessary pain on animals."


No, you have not quantified what should be constitued as necessary, nor have you quantified why that statement taken as a whole in fact constitutes a moral justification - it doesnt.

That is the point. Just because you SAY something constitutes a moral justification, does not mean that it does. You have to logically explain WHY "inflicting unnecesarry pain" on animals in fact constitutes a moral issue. You ALSO, to have a real argument, need to fully quantify in very specific and yet universal terms what criteria must be used to classify pain as "necessary" which you and the whole PETA community has thus far failed to do.

And what I have just said thus far is just in response to the beginning of your post. Of course the rest of your post is just a rehash of the same unfounded arguments, so there is no point in discussing their failings further until and unless you can justify your basic premise re: morality of inflicting "pain" on animals.

Because your further arguments presuppose that animals are human, but they are not.

Also, as a footnote - in the past I have been all through this debate, inside and out. I have also debated the topic with PhD holding professors... except in my case it was not a passsive case of me listening and accepting a very one sided point of view, I actually have reasoned the issue out comprehensively and engaged in actual debate.

Needless to say, it was not a debate that I lost. To subsume human will and need to the perceived greater benefit of non human actors, the end result as a society and even a race can be nothing less than the eventual degradation and dissolution of the human race itself. If this is in fact your end goal, as many PETA types do in fact hope for - then subsuming human will and need to non humans indeed makes sense.

Since you are in school, I highly recommend taking some philosophy courses. You should read up on Descartes ( who CrazyGuy ignorantly bashes ), Kant and Hume for starters. Learn what constitutes actual moral philosophy before you buy into some crazy crackpot who gives you nothing more than faux moralism and a means to feel self-righteous.

I also guarantee that as a lawyer, understanding the reasoning and building your critical thinking skills will pay huge dividends in your career.

As you have just admitted, you just recently "learned things you never thought before". Well, before you accept this guy whole-hog, if he has the temerity to bash Descartes - shouldnt you at least do some due diligence ( a term I am sure you have heard by now as you chase your JD) and actually learn a thing or two about Descartes?
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 08:19 AM
I have no doubt that learning Descartes will be good for me, and will help even more my arguments, because as more I rationalize and put the pieces together, more everything makes sense...

again the same key about "isms"...

Quote:
Because your further arguments presuppose that animals are human, but they are not.


what this sentence means, please enlight me man!

what is your argument to validate the exploitating of animal, why they cannot be compared to some degree to the same arguments about slavery o black people.. you that studdied so much about phylosophy..
Posted By: Sini Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 03:29 PM
I am big times meat eater, I would never consider going on a vegan diet. I do carefully watch my weight and cholesterol levels, so I do occasionally reduce my consumption of meat to nearly zero. You could probably make a case that reducing meat consumption in western world would net overall health benefits for the population (reduction of obesity, coronary diseases and so on).

Now, my approach to arguing for pro-vegetarian and pro-vegan diets would be that meat is much more energy and labor intensive process than plant food. You could feed a lot more people a vegetarian diet than meat-eating diet and with overpopulation and climate change I can foresee meat becoming an ultra-luxury item within 30 years.
Posted By: Sini Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 03:45 PM
Originally Posted By: Mithus
Quote:
Because your further arguments presuppose that animals are human, but they are not.


what this sentence means, please enlight me man!


Your arguments use circular logic based on assumption "inflicting /any/ unecessary pain on animals /is bad/."

Your argument, when distilled to its basics, boils down to following - inflicting pain is bad, we should avoid inflicting pain, growing animals for food is inflicting pain, and we shouldn't be inflicting pain so we shouldn't be growing animals for food.

This argument is problematic for two reasons, first you assume that inflicting pain on animals is bad. This assumption requires justification, you could approach it from universal morals point of view, i.e. we are all better off when there is no suffering; or sanctity of sentience and argue that even rudimentary sentience animals posses is precious and stress similarities between humans and animals; or you could abandon morals altogether and compare energy costs and environmental impact of vegan and meat-eating diets.

Second assumption in your argument is that growing animals for food constitutes inflicting pain, your argument that animals that otherwise wouldn't have existed would be better off not existing is questionable and require better justification.

Well, good luck. I hope you use some of the concepts I mentioned here to improve your argument.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 04:15 PM
Thank you Sinji you sumararized very well,
I would alike to add, your argument, puting aside with the technology advancing and the eviromental question arising about feed billions of people, people will in the future eat meat just for tradition. Some researchers say the taste of a food is more illusionary that you would think, will not be to long for the industries to mimics the same "taste, flavor, smell and meat,hamburger and others food. So in the future people will be eating an hamburger without really eating the real meat and they will do not know the difference.

while Mister Derid tried to complicate too much the arguments [suicide]

I also have to thank Derid to open my mind to reasearch on Descarts:

He reasoned that if the animals felt pain then what was done to them would be so horrific that God would never allow it. Since God did, in fact, allow it, then it follows logically that dogs and rabbits don’t feel pain. There is no reason to think any other animals do, either. As Descartes went on to argue, animals don’t have souls, and without a soul, you can’t feel pain.

If this is the true about his animal views I do not want ever read more about his machinist theoery, he was a genius, Now I can sleep well eating meat. {popcorn}

I'm going to research more, this must be false about him.. I'm picturing Jetstar now about God.. and their presence on earth..
Posted By: Kaotic Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 08:10 PM
I know I'm late to the party but I thought I'd chime in.
Originally Posted By: Mithus
to cause pain and suffering, do say me that the cow , day by day milk is sucked from their tits is a pleasure to them, we are causing animal pain for our pleasure, and just ignoring this fact.
Actually, milk cows suffer pain from distended bag and utters if not milked regularly. Clearly you've never witnessed a cow that has had a calf die, eagerly jump into the milking stall after not being milked for a couple of days.

Originally Posted By: Mithus' source
Scientifically speaking, a plant-based food is not a sentient being, does not have an innate, emotional inclination to avoid bodily harm or death (in the same way that animals do)
Actually plants can be seen in time lapse video moving away from environments that they find unpleasant or harmful and towards healthy environs, just like animals only slower.

There are myriad resources available that show studies that suggest that humans are actually not equipt to digest grains. I'm just sayin.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 09:13 PM
Originally Posted By: Kaotic
Actually, milk cows suffer pain from distended bag and utters if not milked regularly. Clearly you've never witnessed a cow that has had a calf die, eagerly jump into the milking stall after not being milked for a couple of days.

I believe that, so better to let the calf milk instead of suck milk machine. So they call cow is ready to give milk to the calf, if their calf die I think will be some reaction, because unlike Descarts and Derid, they were only like machines and do not raciocinate I think, so if their children die is normal it that they have a reaction to that.

Originally Posted By: Kaotic
Actually plants can be seen in time lapse video moving away from environments that they find unpleasant or harmful and towards healthy environs, just like animals only slower.

I also believe in that but comparing it to mammals like cows,dogs and etcs.. Is kind nonsense to me.. again I do not know like Tasorin said that plants have a nervous system at celular level or any other level, or even at spiritual level..

Originally Posted By: Kaotic

There are myriad resources available that show studies that suggest that humans are actually not equipt to digest grains. I'm just sayin.

We are adapted to eat meat,grains,fruits and vegetable to some degree, and I never think the otherwise, if there is only meat we can survive, if there is only grains and fruits and vegetables we can survive too.
Posted By: Donkleaps Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 09:56 PM
OK so here are some things. Kaotic touched on this earlier about grains being bad for people.

http://thepaleodiet.com/

Take a look at that.

The next point is this. If humans don't kill animals other animals will have to turn into super predators to fill the gap.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dman%2Bkills%2Bhuge%2Bwolf&w=138&h=160&imgurl=www.bing.com%2Fimages%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dman%2Bkills%2Bhuge%2Bwolf%23focal%3Dc351f0fa7d12acd966e9639434d9faa6%26furl%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252f4.bp.blogspot.com%252f-1ZxJKLCA2Tg%252fTpSr3_kW58I%252fAAAAAAAAAoA%252fJLV4iJie7v0%252fs1600%252f640_2005-wolf_hunt.jpg&size=&name=search&rcurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fimages%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dman%2Bkills%2Bhuge%2Bwolf%23focal%3Dc351f0fa7d12acd966e9639434d9faa6%26furl%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252f4.bp.blogspot.com%252f-1ZxJKLCA2Tg%252fTpSr3_kW58I%252fAAAAAAAAAoA%252fJLV4iJie7v0%252fs1600%252f640_2005-wolf_hunt.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fimages%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dman%2Bkills%2Bhuge%2Bwolf%23focal%3Dc351f0fa7d12acd966e9639434d9faa6%26furl%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252f4.bp.blogspot.com%252f-1ZxJKLCA2Tg%252fTpSr3_kW58I%252fAAAAAAAAAoA%252fJLV4iJie7v0%252fs1600%252f640_2005-wolf_hunt.jpg&p=man+kills+huge+wolf&type=&no=2&tt=115&oid=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fimages%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4963724249792907%26id%3Dda9ca1d9ae633ed42cacb0fa9f49b50e%26index%3Dnewexp&tit=...+at+4+48+pm+labels+holiday+season+teenwolf+warewolf+wolf+coat+wolf+rug&sigr=16s9km9pu&sigi=16ltttn4h&sigb=11t25h317&fr=yfp-t-701-1-s

woah that didnt turn out how i wanted it to.
Posted By: Tasorin Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 10:17 PM
Canine is actually very good if butchered, cleaned, and prepared properly. On my last trip to India for business I had some from a street front establishment. A little tough, a little sinewy, a bit gamey, but if you hadn't told me it was Canine, I would have though it was Goat or some other small barn yard animal.

-Mithus, my ego knows no bounds. It truly is the Alpha and Omega.
Posted By: Kaotic Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 10:23 PM
If this is real, that's a damn big wolf. Follow Donk's link to see others.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 10:48 PM
To Donk, .
Some researchs say the 33% of europen descendents have some level of sensitivy or allergy to grains, again not all grains, so you can die of cancer eating grains like you can die too eating meat, you can have auto-imune deseases from them, and usually is by eating processed grains so: wheat+milk plus other ingredients = bread. You can die of that if you are sensive to that.. but you can susbstitute the grain that you are allergic sensive for another, so you can eat bread using rice instead of wheat and etcs.. I will be very unlikely that you are allergic or sensive to all of them.

So to sum up, if grains let you sick, go and eat meat.

Tas, meat is meat so to me if you kill your loved dog and to honour his spirit, eat his meat is the same thing as eating a cow, I do not see too much difference. Recently there was documentary on NatGeo channel showing as tabu a slaughthouse and restaurant here in Brazil for Horses, people accusing the owners of assassins, I didnt get it all, they are like us that eat meat, only difference is about the type of the mammal.

Kaotic, that bear had a good life compared to cows that feed your milk, so he was blessed :). That guy with a riffle must be proud, he killed a bear with a gun! The same thing goes from someone getting emotion from fishing a dumb fish with a pole, and releasing the fish again.. what a hunt, you have too much skill to get a fish!

So I do not know if Eisten did say this but is funny:
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Posted By: Kaotic Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 10:52 PM
Dude, that's not a bear. That's a wolf, and I was just posting what Donk tried to link. His point, I think, is that wolves aren't supposed to be that large and that they are growing to that size because they are protected by humans and allowed to evolve into some sort of super predator.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 11:02 PM
Originally Posted By: Kaotic
Dude, that's not a bear. That's a wolf, and I was just posting what Donk tried to link. His point, I think, is that wolves aren't supposed to be that large and that they are growing to that size because they are protected by humans and allowed to evolve into some sort of super predator.


At first shot he appeared so big that I did not even think it as a wolf. Ok I got it now.
I think you "guys" are not trying to argue with me about the view of PETA.. But if Donk or others I trying to put some questions about them, let me put this in advance.

I do think what they do adds 0% to the cause of animals. So I think Vegans would be better without them, and while I think the abollicionist aproach is the way, I know that is not realist, and I'm realist person, if people can realise that for the point of efficiency and enviromental that eat meat is not a good thing, it's really a good step.

So when I was in the primary school, my history teacher said the in true england pushed Brazil free the slaves not because humanitary/moral questions, but because they want to increase their market on us. So economically was better to them to have as a market millions of free slaves that would be paid by the land lords and be now targets for their products. At that time Brazil was a monarchy that bought everything(manufactured) from France and England.. So we sold coffe and other commodities to buy everything from them.

The same argument now goes to animal use, the real shift will be when becomes much more expensive to eat meat..and with more people eating more vegetables and fruits and etc.. this will put more pressure on changing the law.. and supporting vegan cause, because eating meat/cheese is an addiction too, most of people will not give up this tasteful addiction easily.
Posted By: Tasorin Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/22/12 11:49 PM
Originally Posted By: Kaotic
Dude, that's not a bear. That's a wolf, and I was just posting what Donk tried to link. His point, I think, is that wolves aren't supposed to be that large and that they are growing to that size because they are protected by humans and allowed to evolve into some sort of super predator.


It is a Federal offense to shoot a Grey Wolf in Oregon and Washington. They have been importing them from Montana and Colorado for the last 15 years. Occasionally they roam into Northern California and Idaho and get shot. They are usually in the paper because someone shot one of the bigger ones in the pack and its over 200 pounds and as tall as a man.

Montana



Western Idaho
Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 12:07 AM

Mithus, here is a link http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/4b.htm that pretty succinctly explains Descartes in relation to the matter and also provides a bit of context.

Sinij more or less hit the nail on the head earlier in explaining your use of circular logic. He tends to put things differently, but he was substantively correct. I do find that circular logic is not necessarily in all cases bad or incorrect ( but that discussion , and the whys , hows and wheres of possible correctness is a WHOLE nuther discussion and immaterial to this discussion) so my first reflex is usually not to go after circular logic for being circular logic as such.. but in this case the shoe certainly fits.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 12:24 AM
ya, I did some quick search on the web:

Rene Descartes (1596-1650), the father of modern philosophy, believed that humans have two components: the body and the mind (soul). Most of what we do can be explained by unthinking responses, or passions to our environment. Descartes proposed that animals, lacking mind, act and interact through passions only. They are, in short, organic automata (machines), “much more splendid than artificial ones,” but machines nonetheless.

Descartes and his followers performed experiments in which they nailed animals by their paws onto boards and cut them open to reveal their beating hearts. They burned, scalded, and mutilated animals in every conceivable manner. When the animals reacted as though they were suffering pain, Descartes dismissed the reaction as no different from the sound of a machine that was functioning improperly. A crying dog, Descartes maintained, is no different from a whining gear that needs oil.

360 years later, Rene Descartes still exerts influence. While most contemporary scientists concede that animals can feel pain, their pain, so it is argued, is not quite like ours. Thus, vivisection continues. Yet clearly, all humans do not suffer in exactly the same way; I can never truly know what pain feels like to you. I can intuit by virtue of a like anatomy (nociceptors, spinal cord, brain), but this biological similarity is precisely why we experiment on animals in the first place. In the end, there is no escaping this uncomfortable truth: the only reason we cut up defenseless animals and not intellectually-similar human beings (small children, senile seniors, mentally-enfeebled) in the pursuit of scientific progress is that they do not belong to our species. And speciesism is as irrational as racism and sexism. Rene Descartes’ philosophy is an anachronism that should be buried in an unenlightened past.



Quote:
The arguments of authority were and are quite common, unfortunately. Aristotle said that the planets are perfect spheres, and this was true for the next 1800 years. When Galileo showed that the Moon's surface was irregular (the moon is a "planet" in classical astronomy) there were many who said he was wrong because it was contrary to Aristotle. It was no use to show images in your telescope, make drawings, bringing the moon pulling with a rope and rub it on the nose of the citizen: Aristotle had not said that its surface was flat? Well then it is flat, what the hell! This reminds me of the famous phrase "if the facts do not fit the theory, so much the worse for the facts ..."

So when you kill a pig or a dog, even if he cries, bud, try desperately to escape, if squirm in pain as you scream and stabs him horribly until the last breath of life was fading, that does not mean that he feels pain, suffering or has any other emotion ... Why? However, because Descartes said so, that nonhuman animals (a group clearly paraphyletic!) Are just automatons, devoid of any internal mental state. And that's it!

This nonsense did not come Cartesian join the Catholic and Jewish view that nonhuman animals are only movable property, public or private property, devoid of "soul" and subject to any treatment that humans want to dismiss them. In fact, this nonsense is born into this Cartesian view Catholic and Jewish, as is easy to see.

Exploring the internal mental states of bees cows, cognitive ethology is becoming increasingly robust.

And so for the next four centuries, the authority Cartesian hung (would have stopped hovering?) On all scientific research on all of biology, zoology over all, on the whole ethology. I've heard several times, my students, that "man is the only rational animal." Well, I attribute this kind of opinion over the Christian tradition that Descartes. However, I've heard my colleagues in academia, and no fewer than a dozen times, saying "animals (nonhuman) have no emotion", "animals have no rationality", "animals do not feel pain", explicitly using the name Descartes as an argument of authority. I guess these guys are able to do vivissecções without anesthesia, because, since animals do not feel pain?

The cognitive ethology, a branch of ethology, in short, seeks to study the internal mental states of animals, is not exactly a new science, though only about 30 or 40 years (for those who do not know, I recommend the books of disclosure scientific Mark Bekoff and Colin Allen, especially "Species of mind"). However, I have the impression that cognitive ethology is gaining traction, producing more papers and being taken increasingly seriously in the academic world. I may be wrong, but I bet some chips that I'm not.

This therefore is the reason for this brief note: draw attention to the recent progress in an area of biology extremely interesting and complex. Bees with emotional states, cows that demonstrate understanding of their social structure, demonstrations of affection in chickens, whales that give names to each other ... The last few years have been quite prolific for cognitive ethology, and the trend is that it becomes increasingly robust and increasingly important. That, just as Galileo and his telescope, the cognitive ethology show that an argument from authority can not override the facts and scientific analysis.

When Darwin published "Origin," began the slow but inevitable death of this concept is detrimental to the scala naturae. Likewise, I hope that the maturation of cognitive ethology begin the slow death of this nonsense Cartesian, primarily in academia, and then in society as a whole.
Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 01:21 AM
Originally Posted By: Mithus
In the end, there is no escaping this uncomfortable truth: the only reason we cut up defenseless animals and not intellectually-similar human beings (small children, senile seniors, mentally-enfeebled) in the pursuit of scientific progress is that they do not belong to our species. And speciesism is as irrational as racism and sexism. Rene Descartes’ philosophy is an anachronism that should be buried in an unenlightened past.


You are making unsupported assertions again. Or whoever you are quoting is. especially now that he/she is trying to assert that "speciesism" is irrational. Thus far, the speaker has not put forth one rational or supported argument.

You need to make a case for WHY. Just because a nervous system exists proves nothing, existentially speaking. Your PC also has a nervous system and a brain for example.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 01:40 AM
Derid we are not going back again with moral question and the unecessary pain setence and "ism" arguments.

as ism: nazism was irrational for their victims, like sexism was not rational for women, racism was not rational for the slaves, but were perfect to people the perpreted their ideology.

What I see is that Descartes ideology should be buried like many people that study animals think today, and they are not vegetarians.

Quote:
This therefore is the reason for this brief note: draw attention to the recent progress in an area of biology extremely interesting and complex. Bees with emotional states, cows that demonstrate understanding of their social structure, demonstrations of affection in chickens, whales that give names to each other ... The last few years have been quite prolific for cognitive ethology, and the trend is that it becomes increasingly robust and increasingly important. That, just as Galileo and his telescope, the cognitive ethology show that an argument from authority can not override the facts and scientific analysis.

When Darwin published "Origin," began the slow but inevitable death of this concept is detrimental to the scala naturae. Likewise, I hope that the maturation of cognitive ethology begin the slow death of this nonsense Cartesian, primarily in academia, and then in society as a whole.


Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 03:55 AM
The ism argument, isnt an argument though. veganism , vegetarianism... there I just added an "ism" to those two words. Are they suddenly irrational?

As far as the argument you are making re: Descartes, it is apparent you are missing the point entirely.

The main point revolves around cognito ergo sum, " I think therefore I am".

---

Furthermore, we have to go back to the moral argument - because you have not sufficiently addressed it. The fact is that evolution has imparted sophisticated response mechanisms on non human creatures. This is not the same as imparting reason or morality. ( which raises another issue, that is the question of reciprocating morality. One yardstick some would use, and I see some value in regarding applicability of morality is whether a given species or object is itself capable of morality. Or in other words, what value does the concept of morality have ; if the subjects in question by definition have no morality. Keep in mind, this concept is not dealing with cases where morality differs, or a cognizant actor makes a ration decision to be immoral - such as a misbehaving or ignorant human - but rather when a being or actor is fundamentally incapable of grasping the concept of morality in of itself. Think of it as a different type of turing test.)

Humans do share quite a bit with non humans, this is a fact. However there are some very important bits that are not shared.

Also, you have not articulated any argument as to why humans should subsume their will, or Will to Power as it were to non human actors. You have thrown out some hypothetical examples as to a "casual" relationship that occurs in some instances, between human well being and animal well being ( your dietary and global warming assertions, which while I do not accept or agree with those assertions I am willing to accept as hypothetically true for the sake of this particular argument, because my reasoning is not dependent on those being untrue and haggling over them confuses the issue) - you still have yet to establish that there is a "causal" relationship between animal and human well being. ( Or in other words, a direct cause-effect link whereby all pain inflicted on animals in inherently detrimental to humans) If you could make a causal, as opposed to a casual relationship link then you would have a morality argument. However, you do not.

I honestly implore you to engage your faculties regarding this matter, and objectively re-construct your own arguments from the ground up in as objective a manner as possible. Typically a good way to do this, is to at the very least make attempts to reason through things with your own arguments - and put your arguments in your own words.

Pasting things like links and quotes can be useful for giving background, or saving yourself some typing when it comes to sharing general info. But if you wish to make any type of convincing argument in a discussion of this nature, you need to construct and articulate your own arguments... not just paste a quote with someones opinion.

To you, they are preaching to the choir - and you undoubtedly feel reassured by the self-reinforcement. However to people who do not currently agree with you, you are just pasting a random opinion in lieu of evidence or logic.
Posted By: Sini Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 05:01 AM
Derid, I find your position of human exceptionism based on possession of morality to be deeply flawed. I have no choice but to 'pluck a chicken' and point out that this line of thinking would also suggest that amoral acts would undermine one's humanity.
Posted By: Drakiis Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 06:39 AM
I like meat, and I like Mithus, so by my logic Mithus can continue believing what he wants and eat what he wants. To me the argument ends there, I care about my friends not what they eat.
Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 09:24 AM
Originally Posted By: sinij
Derid, I find your position of human exceptionism based on possession of morality to be deeply flawed. I have no choice but to 'pluck a chicken' and point out that this line of thinking would also suggest that amoral acts would undermine one's humanity.


Negative on that, its capacity for - not demonstration of. As a rule, humans are able to comprehend morality. Whether humans all agree on morality, or whether humans choose to follow what they believe to be moral is immaterial.

The point, is that humans can conceive of the concept. Animals on the other hand, are not known or even suspected of doing so.

So, your assessment of what I wrote was incorrect. Because an immoral person is not actually considered non-human. As a matter of fact, its the very ability to conceive of morality and make a choice that proves humanity.

I wont dispute your assertion that a philosophy that said humans forfeited their humanity by being immoral would be flawed. I would actually agree with you on that, provided we are using the term "humanity" in the context and I think we are. However, you did misinterpret the position put forth.

---

To elaborate a little, the concept was put forth as something of an alternate Turing test. However the difference between this metric and Turing's was intentional - because it also calls into the question the aspect of applicability and value of morality re: in terms of dealing with external actors that inherently have no morality or concept thereof in absolute terms.

A person we consider immoral, still conceptualizes morality. In some cases they choose to arguably disregard it, in some cases their interpretation of morality may be so different that we find them to be immoral. However, being or acting immoral is a different proposition in absolute terms than an absolute lack of the very concept or capacity for morality.

For an example

1) Joseph Stalin

2) A Goldman Sachs exec

3) A stone

4) A Cow

With these four examples, I would argue that one of them had a twisted personal understanding of morality, one of them likely has an understanding of morality similar to our own shared mores but likely chooses not to follow it... and the other two examples have neither the ability to conceptualize or follow morality.

However the first two examples are still every bit as human as anyone else ever was or will be.


Hopefully this makes it clearer.
Posted By: Sini Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 05:44 PM
Originally Posted By: Derid

Negative on that, its capacity for - not demonstration of.


Some adult primates show more capacity for morality than children below age of 3. Are they more human?

I don't think you fully conceptualized what morality is and why we have it. Morality is a social organism evolutionary trait that enables and promotes cooperation within species. It is generally is not applied outside of the species, unless in some cases of anthropomorphism seen in primates and humans.

All social animals have some capacity for morality, that includes bees, ants, all primates, rats. Are they partially human?

If anything, your view of morality and humanity supports Mithus' position, because if it is capacity for morality that makes us human, as oppose to abstract thinking, self-awareness of varying degrees or something entirely different, then certain animals are at least somewhat human.
Posted By: Tasorin Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 06:10 PM
While I respect that discourse and discussion is part of what KGB does, we also have several Beta efforts going on for multiple AAA titles.

I find it very disheartening that individuals log into the Oracle and of all the GAME ACTIVITY we have going on, threads like this are the only ones that get there response.

Get Active in actual game activity, be it beta process, or actual in-game action.

For the love of Beer & Glory, this is a GAMING CLAN!!
Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 06:39 PM
Originally Posted By: sinij
Originally Posted By: Derid

Negative on that, its capacity for - not demonstration of.


Some adult primates show more capacity for morality than children below age of 3. Are they more human?

I don't think you fully conceptualized what morality is and why we have it. Morality is a social organism evolutionary trait that enables and promotes cooperation within species. It is generally is not applied outside of the species, unless in some cases of anthropomorphism seen in primates and humans.

All social animals have some capacity for morality, that includes bees, ants, all primates, rats. Are they partially human?

If anything, your view of morality and humanity supports Mithus' position, because if it is capacity for morality that makes us human, as oppose to abstract thinking, self-awareness of varying degrees or something entirely different, then certain animals are at least somewhat human.


No, you are mistaking a reaction that could fit with a moral course, with the ability to CONCEPTUALIZE morality.

Which, incidentally falls in line with what you are saying in regards to abstract thinking & etc.

(You and Mithus both in this case are mistaking an stated ability to conceptualize something with an apparent ability to perform an action which could be subjectively construed as fitting a particular and discrete moral pattern. )


You and I are actually taking a similar approach, but simply focusing on different aspects of the same principle. (conceptualizing morality is dependent on abstract reasoning, yet the ability to conceptualize it is not the equivalent of performing moral behaviour) I focused in on the particular aspect of conceptualizing morality, because it infers additional arguments. Both the tack I have taken, and the one you are appearing to take revolve around cogito ergo sum at their core.
Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 06:43 PM
Originally Posted By: Tasorin
While I respect that discourse and discussion is part of what KGB does, we also have several Beta efforts going on for multiple AAA titles.

I find it very disheartening that individuals log into the Oracle and of all the GAME ACTIVITY we have going on, threads like this are the only ones that get there response.

Get Active in actual game activity, be it beta process, or actual in-game action.

For the love of Beer & Glory, this is a GAMING CLAN!!


Two points:

1) This IS a game. A Browser based word game. Some of us find it fun.

2) One of us installed Tribes at the behest of others recently, and one of us has played every evening since. ( solo, I might add... where is u? )
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 06:56 PM
I like the discussion, and the when people actually discuss arguments and view points, what is been done here, different when people begin to discuss religion and politics what can sometimes end in personal attacks(but that is only more inclinable to the republican wing of KGB) <-kidding.

About KGB it's a gaming organization, but it's health and sometimes productive to discuss others subjectives.

All people here are active and played games with KGB members on the last 6 months :)

to Derid, I do not have any arguments to bring or to quote in anymore, what was clear to me, you can correct me if I'm wrong please:

to you there is no problem and to use and explore non-human animals at man's will, that is it. After all they are not humans, they do not possess the qualities to be like humans.
Posted By: Derid Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 07:26 PM

Yes you could say that. However if I could be convinced that there was a moral aspect, I would change my view. I have simply never encountered a compelling argument in favor. But I absolutely do value human well being above non-human well being. I actually hold forth that it is immoral to place non humans above humans.

Of course like I have said previously, I have no objection to other people living how they please and eating whatever they want to eat and etc. My primary objection is when people endorse the use of violence ( including but not limited to govt violence ) against those who do not hold the same values - particularly when said values cannot be said to have a basic in logic.

I look at animal rights extremists in more or less the same light as I view religious extremists. For either group, it comes down to faith in their beliefs and a sense of well-being imparted by holding and proselytizing those beliefs as opposed to a reasoned position on the proper order of society.
Posted By: Sini Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 08:13 PM
Originally Posted By: Derid

I look at animal rights extremists in more or less the same light as I view religious extremists. For either group, it comes down to faith in their beliefs and a sense of well-being imparted by holding and proselytizing those beliefs.


Very much agree.
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 10:05 PM
I agree.

Quote:
Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.
Thomas A. Edison
Posted By: Drakiis Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 10:24 PM
"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot." -Mark Twain
Posted By: Tasorin Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/23/12 10:35 PM
[rules]
Posted By: Sini Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/24/12 03:03 PM
Posted By: Sini Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/25/12 11:28 PM
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/26/12 09:39 AM
I know you are joking: but some people maybe believe.

(NaturalNews) It's common knowledge that Hitler was a vegetarian. Just ask anybody: They'll tell you so. Trouble is, the assumption is false. Hitler wasn't a vegetarian at all. Consider the historical facts:

• Biographers who wrote about Hitler (and who knew him quite well on a personal basis) openly describe his love for Bavarian sausages and game pie ("game" meaning wild meat from birds and other creatures).

• Hitler's own chef openly talked about Hitler's love for stuffed pigeon.

• In none of Hitler's speeches or writing did Hitler state he was a vegetarian or speak in favor of vegetarianism.

• Hitler was regularly given injections of a protein serum made from the testicles of a bull -- not exactly a treatment that would be tolerated by vegetarians.

In fact, Hitler suffered from severe flatulence and was advised by doctors to follow a vegetarian diet from time to time in order to calm the gas attacks. This is probably where the myth about Hitler being a vegetarian first originated.

By the way, according to the above-mentioned article, the New York Times' definition of vegetarianism includes cooked ham. I suppose if you define vegetarianism as including cooked ham and sausages, then sure, Hitler was a vegetarian. But you'd have to be a numbskull to adopt that definition in the first place.

Speaking of myths about Hitler, it turns out Hitler wasn't an atheist, either. As he stated himself in Mein Kampf (1925): "I am convinced that I am acting as the agent of our Creator. By fighting off the Jews, I am doing the Lord's work."
Posted By: Wolfgang Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/26/12 02:44 PM
Originally Posted By: sinij


Possibly the BEST post you have contributed to! lol
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 03/28/12 02:43 PM
Posted By: Mithus Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 04/01/12 12:00 AM
Posted By: Donkleaps Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 06/19/12 02:39 PM
Originally Posted By: mmolive26
To see http://www.mmolive.com or http://www.mmohome.com world in a granda of stand.And a heaven in a wild flower.Hold infinity in the palm your hand and eternity in an hour.


YES!!!!!! HOLD INFINITY IN THE PALM YOUR HAND AND ETERNITY IN AN HOUR!!!!

hahahahaha
Posted By: Brutal Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 06/19/12 04:33 PM
why is this mmolive guy necro bumping these threads? is it a bot?
Posted By: Donkleaps Re: Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - 06/19/12 04:38 PM
Yeah it's a spam bot.
© The KGB Oracle