As a philosophy student, I'm interested in hearing others' philosophical views on being veg*n. I did a search without any hits, and while I'm sure there are multiple posts about this elsewhere, perhaps a central place for philosophical thought on the subject would be nice. Feel free to state your philosophical arguments concerning veg*n issues, and let's have some nice discussion.
To start, here's my own argument with explanation:
1. Harming beings is unethical, unless it is a necessity [wherein there is ethical justification] to harm sentient beings.
2. We (most industrialized societies) have means of gaining adequate nutrition without harming sentient beings.
// 3. It is unethical to harm beings for food.
Beings in this argument includes animals and insects. Insert "sentient" behind beings if it helps for clarity, to rule out bacteria, virii, and prions. This argument can also be adapted to: hunting/sport (hunting animals is not necessary for adequate nutrition; therefore, hunting is unethical), trapping (i.e. there are other ethical means of trapping; therefore, killing the animal is not ethical), and clothing (i.e. we have other adequate means of clothing [cotton, etc.]; therefore, killing beings for clothing is unethical). And, as it should, it leaves open the principle of harm in self-defense.
Basically the argument is stating: If there is a choice between harming and not harming, and the end-result is the same, it is more ethical to choose the option which does the least harm.
Obviously this argument is in favor of a vegan lifestyle, one that even I don't adhere to currently. But I aspire!
Any other philosophical arguments concerning veg*n you adhere to? Thoughts?
(By the way, if the almighty mods can please move this to the appropriate forum [Vegetarian and Vegan], I would appreciate it. Sorry for the wrong forum!)
To start, here's my own argument with explanation:
1. Harming beings is unethical, unless it is a necessity [wherein there is ethical justification] to harm sentient beings.
2. We (most industrialized societies) have means of gaining adequate nutrition without harming sentient beings.
// 3. It is unethical to harm beings for food.
Beings in this argument includes animals and insects. Insert "sentient" behind beings if it helps for clarity, to rule out bacteria, virii, and prions. This argument can also be adapted to: hunting/sport (hunting animals is not necessary for adequate nutrition; therefore, hunting is unethical), trapping (i.e. there are other ethical means of trapping; therefore, killing the animal is not ethical), and clothing (i.e. we have other adequate means of clothing [cotton, etc.]; therefore, killing beings for clothing is unethical). And, as it should, it leaves open the principle of harm in self-defense.
Basically the argument is stating: If there is a choice between harming and not harming, and the end-result is the same, it is more ethical to choose the option which does the least harm.
Obviously this argument is in favor of a vegan lifestyle, one that even I don't adhere to currently. But I aspire!
Any other philosophical arguments concerning veg*n you adhere to? Thoughts?
(By the way, if the almighty mods can please move this to the appropriate forum [Vegetarian and Vegan], I would appreciate it. Sorry for the wrong forum!)