Animal Ethics

JANUARY 20, 2008

Virtually everyone agrees that: (1) It is wrong to cause a conscious sentient animal to suffer for no good reason. Causing an animal to suffer for no good reason is cruel, and our ordinary commonsense morality tells us in no uncertain terms that cruelty is wrong. Most people hold that it is wrong to cause animals unnecessary suffering.

Vegetarian 40

Vegetarian Meat Ethics Lacto-Ovo 40

Animal Person

DECEMBER 22, 2009

For me, atheism and veganism go hand-in-hand. We, atheists and vegans, ask: What do we know to be true, and what are we going to do about it? Though we don't know the extent to which plants experience any kind of suffering, we do know that sentient nonhumans experience pain, pleasure, boredom and frustration.

Vegan 100

Vegan Ethics Adoptable Suffering 100

Animal Person

MARCH 29, 2009

There is a general consensus that vegetarianism and veganism are different philosophically. And human psychology says that humans are far more social than rational creatures. One of the most important aspects determining human behaviour is their social environment. How about this?

Psychology 100

Psychology Campaign Animal Rights Movement Suffering 100

Animal Person

MARCH 18, 2010

The reason we need to save the gorillas and their habitats (it's a book on gorilla "conservation") is--and this is from memory so there could be more--that gorillas have thumbs, just like humans do. All animals except the dog are called "it" (I did a little experiment to see what would happen). That makes sense to me.

Gorillas 100

Gorillas Pets Vegan Speciesism 100

Animal Ethics

JANUARY 2, 2008

If you are already a vegetarian, make this the year that you decide to go vegan. i) Do attend socially conscious circuses like Cirque de Soleil that exclusively feature human performers. (j) j) Donate only to Humane Charities that don't test on animals. A list of Humane Charities is available here. There's more!

Rights 40

Rights Animal Cruelty Vegan Cruelty 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 31, 2006

i) Do attend socially conscious circuses like Cirque de Soleil that exclusively feature human performers. (j) j) Donate only to Humane Charities that don't test on animals. A list of Humane Charities is available here. One beauty of a low-fat vegan diet is that you can eat as much vegan food as you like and still lose weight.

2007 40

2007 Rights Animal Cruelty Cruelty 40

Animal Ethics

FEBRUARY 15, 2009

Vegan vegetarians who eat only vegetables, fruit, and nuts do not completely remove all microorganisms from their food, even with repeated cleaning. If some microorganisms must be killed in the process, this is unfortunate but necessary for human life. Why should microorganisms be sacrificed rather than humans? KBJ: Ditto.

Morals 40

Morals Vegetarian Meat Killing 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 23, 2006

He clearly thinks that it is wrong to cause animals to suffer unnecessarily, but he appears to be somewhat ambivalent about killing animals (provided the killing is carried out humanely). I suspect that underlying his thinking here is a common rationalization that many of my students initially embrace.

Factory Farm 40

Factory Farm Factory Farming Morals Meat 40