this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2024
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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

the crux of the argument that they might feel pain is not that it is wrong, but that it is inevitable, so it cannot be wrong

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I had a stroke while reading this. Can you clarify what you meant?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

when somebody raises the objection that plants feel pain, it's not an appeal to hypocrisy. it's a statement of fact whether we can prove it or not. and it's the premise of a larger argument. that argument goes

pain is an inevitable facet of food production

food production is a moral good

an inevitable facet of food production cannot make food production bad

therefore

food production remains a moral good

your rebuttal was targeted at defending against the accusation of hypocrisy, but the devastating bit has nothing to do with the hypocrisy.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Pain might be an inevitable facet of food production (crop deaths). But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to eliminate as much pain as we reasonably can.


Pain is an inevitable facet of surgery

Surgery is a moral good

an inevitable facet of surgery cannot make surgey bad

surgery remains a moral good


The fact that pain is inevitable to surgery doesn't mean we should stop giving patients anesthesia and pain medication.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

there is an obvious case for easing the pain of humans, but not so much for our food.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So it just loops back to speciesism then? You don't care about the pain animals face, only humans?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

as kant said, cruelty is bad. you ought not kick a dog, for instance, but there is no contradiction in animal agriculture itself. if some operations are acting cruelly, we should admonish them. otherwise, tehre is no reason to believe non-human animals can participate in an ethical society, so there is no reason to include them in our ethical systems.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

tehre is no reason to believe non-human animals can participate in an ethical society, so there is no reason to include them in our ethical systems.

But we do. You mentioned how you ought not to kick a dog, for instance. The difference is that we treat some animals as companions while treating others as resources for exploitation. If you truly believe that there is no reason to be ethical to animals, why not kick that dog? Or maybe boil it alive?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

why not kick that dog?

again, kant discourages cruelty as a practice toward non-human animals, as it may lead to practicing cruelty toward people. that's it. it's not including them in our morality.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Okay, then why is animal agriculture not a bad thing? It's highly violent which can lead to violence against people.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Pickton

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

practicing cruelty is bad, but animal agriculture is not cruelty in and of itself. if a particular operation is acting cruelly, they should be admonished.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

animal agriculture is not cruelty in and of itself. if a particular operation is acting cruelly, they should be admonished.

I would argue that animal agriculture is cruelty in and of itself. It's forcing animals into small cages, forcibly impregnating them, stealing their babies, cutting off their tails, and then painfully murdering them. It's a cruel operation

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I can't make you see the cruelty. That's something that every person needs to see on their own.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I disagree that agriculture is inherently cruel.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

And that's not something I'll be able to change your mind on. You can watch some documentaries such as Dominion if you are interested. Just be warned, it's of course very violent (as animal agriculture inherently is)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I've seen dominion. it's propaganda designed to inflict trauma, not a a sober analysis of humanitarian slaughter laws and practices.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

There is no humane slaughter. That's the point. Also watching it was your own choice. It's designed to make the viewer uncomfortable.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It’s designed to make the viewer uncomfortable.

yea. it uses well-known horror film techniques to induce trauma. sudden loud sounds, long sustained shots from awkward angles, long periods of loud sounds. it's not a documentary, it's a lesson on abusing audiences.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Do you get trauma whenever you watch a horror movie?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

like sleeplessness, nightmares, vomiting/nausea? sometimes.