Response to Bridgette-"Ethics of Hunting"

Bridgette talks about hunting in her post, and asks whether it is ethical to kill an animal if it is done painlessly. This goes back to Kaldewaij's argument about the harm of death. As I have said before on my blog, I don't think animals (or humans) are harmed by death, but I do think it is still unethical to kill an animal (or a human) unless there is a good reason to do so. A "good reason" would usually be in the animal's best interest (euthanasia) or self defense (an animal is attacking a human). I would not qualify hunting for food as a "good reason". Hunting for food is still hunting for sport- you're just being resourceful of what's left. It is not ethical to kill a human and eat his or her flesh except for maybe in extreme circumstances, because you don't need to eat human flesh in order to eat. You can get food from many other places. Similarly, it is not ethical to kill an animal for food because you don't need to get your food from animals. I am convinced that hunting is always done as a sport; people wouldn't do it if they didn't find it fun. I think people get a thrill out of killing something without being held morally responsible for it. Killing is power, and people like to feel powerful. Our culture is strangely fixated with killing and violence. It is in our everyday language; we use violent or rape imagery to convey an achievement ("We killed the opposing football team" or "I raped that math test"). Because this glorification of violence is so embedded in our culture, hunting might seem like no big deal, but if you analyze the arguments hunters give for what they do, it is clear that there is no moral justification for the sport of hunting.
Question: Is there another justification for hunting that I have missed?

Absolutism versus Incrementalism

Today in class we talked about absolutism and incrementalism. We discussed whether the meat industry should be reformed (incrementalism) or abolished completely (absolutism). I believe that, if there is something wrong with the world, we need to work towards getting rid of it completely, not making it a little less wrong. I understand that it is easier and probably more practical to just work within the system to make conditions a little better, but if you truly believe that animals deserve rights and freedom, then you are betraying yourself and your beliefs if you don't try to change the system. An incrementalist view is a compromise; matters such as life and death (and animal welfare is a matter of life and death) should not be handled this way. When slavery was still happening in the U.S., an incrementalist view of slavery could be "let's just try and make living conditions for slaves better. Abolishing slavery will never happen; we should focus our efforts on making slavery a little less miserable." The slavery analogy is dramatic, but it is a fair comparison. People sometimes don't realize that it is possible to change the world. You don't have to believe those pessimistic ideas that "that's just the way the world is" and "no one ever said life was fair". If you have a sense of what is right and what is wrong, then you should honor that by not compromising your beliefs. Question: What is a good defense of incrementalism?

Animal Consumption and Dominance (Response to Todd)

Todd suggested that perhaps we associate animal consumption with "strength" because we view the consumption of animals as a form of dominance. I think this is a really good point and I agree with it. We, as humans, are consumers in every sense of the word. We need to buy, eat, own, and dominate to feel superior. Humans value things like money, property, and goods. We also tend to value concrete things over abstract ideas such as love or happiness. We measure wealth by what tangible items somebody has. To love something, to nurture something, or to care for something is seen as "weak" and feminine (as if those two things are synonymous). Therefore, a vegan or vegetarian is seen as weaker than a person who eats meat because killing and consuming are seen as powerful (and masculine) things. Since our society values things that are typically masculine over things that are typically feminine, the violence and domination associated with consuming animals are considered positive. Question: Why does our society view violence and domination as a good thing, but view love and nurturance as a bad thing?