Not a Vegan, just passing through…
This flawed mentality shows up everywhere. For example, if you say you deserve to be treated better there’s always someone who says something like, “But everyone else gets mistreated, too.” Like I’m supposed to voluntarily accept abuse. No, asshole, that means everyone else should also be treated better!
Same when you advocate for a higher minimum wage. Somehow, lifting up one group is always misinterpreted as tearing down another.
We can tear down the bourgeois, as a treat 👀
This sounds like a great idea until you remember that virtually all human societies of the last few thousand years are built on both animal abuse and child abuse.
Uhh, we don’t have to repeat the mistakes of the past.
The correlation is not without causation.
Considering how most people treat children this is not a good idea.
I don’t think we should base how cruel we can be on how smart our victims are.
What else should we base it on? Do you think hitting a fly is as cruel as hitting a human?
I think the consequences are less severe socially and personally, but yeah I’d say it’s just as cruel. Do you think it’s more okay to hit an unintelligent person because they’re not as intelligent?
Edit (forgot to answer the actual question): I think ethically the answer is pretty obviously ‘just don’t be cruel’. But practically consequentialism is what most people opt for.
As someone who doesn’t believe in objective morality, I think how far people can/will be selfish is very different for each person and a strict generalised set of rules is ridiculous to expect.
Obviously the best thing an individual can do environmentally speaking and to reduce the most harm to others is kill themselves. Just as obviously that is an insanely absurd choice. The rest is finding the optimal point where you’re reducing as much harm to others without causing too much to yourself.
No I don’t think intelligence differences inside of a species matters at all for cruelty.
However intelligence between different species does matter for me, at least as much as the cuteness factor which shouldn’t matter but lets be honest for most people does.
There’s also the threat and annoyance factor hence mosquito<fly<butterfly.
Btw thanks guys for all the replies and civil discussion have a good night everyone.
(Note: I don’t think hitting a fly is as cruel as hitting a human.)
On the flip side though, pigs are smarter than human kids up to 3 years old, plus a great many humans with mental disabilities. Doesn’t stop people from eating pigs.
But also, if given the choice I’d save the life of a two-year-old or a person with severe mental deficiencies over saving a pig’s life.
I’ve been vegan for almost a decade and I don’t think anyone, vegan or omnivore, actually bases their ethical choices concerning animals with intelligence as a priority.
Yes.
And a tree?
Yup.
just a genuine question, what about a mosquito that was going to sting you?
With those I usually either put myself behind a net or wear something that keeps them away from me or find them myself and cover them with a glass and put something under the glass and put them outside.
Fascinating
depends on the human
I’ll go one step further and say intelligence doesn’t determine how someone should be treated. Especially as a neurodivergent. Don’t exploit creatures, regardless of how smart guy think they are.
repeat the second panel as the next one
That never come to the mind …
Is it possible that way?
I’m fairly certain free range children would be considered child endangerment by a majority of people. Instead we lock children up in classrooms for a good portion of the day. Point is what’s good for one might not be good for another. Best we can do is strive to be better each day.
