Sat, Aug-30-03, 13:16
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Senior Member
Posts: 328
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 178/148/133
BF:
Progress: 67%
Location: Seattle
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I know, Lisa, you have never espoused the position that "greater intelligence = right to kill those with lesser intelligence." I was just trying to explain the history behind gymeejet's hypothetical.
(Also, to answer your rebuttal: "Why wouldn't the hypothetical aliens eat nonhuman animals?", in the hypo, the aliens are four-legged and prefer to eat animals -- primates -- that resemble the aliens the least. This detail is used to show students that it is unethical to base moral decisions on morphological difference or similarity to oneself.)
And, yes, many vegetarians I know *do* think we should drastically reduce the numbers of human beings on the planet -- though perhaps not for quite the reasons you suggest.
And I agree, if one were starving, and if no other food source were available, then yes, under those circumstances, killing a nonhuman animal could be a necessary (and therefore not unethical) act.
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