A conversation

With permission from a friend, I'm posting up a discussion I had with her about the A&E class

Animals & Ethics is the class title
it's all about the evolution of morality, and whether or not animals can be moral creatures, or if its merely humanity that has that ability

ghost: wow
ghost: a bit mind-blowing

Yes. but the reading sometimes makes my brain want to explode.
it has so very many philosophy jargon and such that I'm constantly flipping through dictionaries

ghost: well morality is an odd word, hard to define, is it an agreement between two
ghost: as in morals about not killing eachother so a community can exist
ghost: kinda hard to live side by side if we are always injuring eachother in different ways

It's all of it. sociality as a moral construct, the argument for vegetarianism..

ghost: ahh, but i have eye teeth that are sharp
ghost: though i do adore animals
ghost: and eat very few

Yes, humans are omnivorous by physiology. That is one of the arguments against vegetarianism

ghost: no bunnies

But that's where morals come in. If it's wrong to kill, is it wrong to kill animals? or just SOME animals?

ghost:we kiss bunnies

Which ones? how can you choose? Is one more valuable than another because it's cute? That's the stuff this class discusses

ghost: ahh, i think its the domestic thing
ghost: livestock, and farms
ghost: um, is it wrong to kill animals? Animals kill animals, but being humane in the killing, that is a human issue.
ghost: this is great stuff ally

What about whales and fish and wolves and wild horses. birds?
It's not just about killing for consumption:
Animal testing for human products, circuses, zoos

ghost: definitely.

Why is it ok to boil a live lobster, but not something else?

ghost: does make the head spin
ghost: my sister is an ultra vegan
ghost:I know where her thoughts lay
ghost: meat = murder
ghost: I'm not as hard on that
ghost: but humane killing, is an issue

I eat meat, but now i'm developing a guilt complex from this class, haha.
It's like..I want to apologize every time I have chicken

ghost: me too actually
ghost: cause

oh, and things like puppy and exotic animal mills and such are also discussed in this class. breeding animals just for aesthetic value in fur farms and exotics black market sales.
The whole phenom of the white tiger, for instance..inbreeding. Most that are born are so disabled or disfigured that no circus will show them, and they are either killed or used for the fur trade. It's sad. I've done research.

ghost: see, thats why I'd end up like Rena (my sister)
ghost: i do eat cheese 24/7

You really do. I've noticed. Ah, but cheese comes from milk which comes from cows. Is it morally right to steal from cows?

ghost: yes it is, or you might ask, killing plants for salad, or microbes in water, is it time for me to die than hmm, what is left ? see

Exactly. almost everything a person does kills something. It's a tricky issue

ghost: yes

Even Vegans.

ghost:yes

They kill stuff all the time by breathing.

ghost: brown rice kills the rice plant.
ghost: and tofu kills the soy plant
ghost: so back to
ghost: raising livestock for food

Yeah.