I'm not sure I would relate morality to docile nature — Xav
I'm afraid I am unable to make any sense of this. Are you denying that, for a typical city dweller that can only obtain food from shops, there is less animal suffering involved in a vegan diet than an omnivorous one? If there is less suffering involved, and it is easy to show that's the case, then the vegan's goal of reducing suffering has been achieved.if the vegan goal was to actually reduce suffering they could chose to not eat fruits and vegetables from farms. — DingoJones
No. It isn't.Non-violence is a soft stance as opposed to, say, the on-going malady of terrorism. Isn't it? — TheMadFool
The vegans I see wear recycled clothes, use bicycles for transport, minimise needless consumption and packaging, minimise power consumption and so on. — andrewk
On the contrary, Peter Singer - probably the world's most influential and well-known vegan - advocates exactly that, ie minimising, or even just reducing. He has written repeatedly that it is not realistic to expect that most people will give up eating meat, but if they can even be persuaded to reduce their consumption somewhat, and pay more attention to the conditions in which their meat was produced, a great deal of suffering can be prevented.But that's not what vegans are advocating with regards to meat eating though is it? Vegans are advocating eliminating meat, not minimising it. — Isaac
How does a vegan justify living in a society that is based around consumerism? How does a vegan justify the use of anything beyond the bare necessities of life when such luxuries almost universally cause harm to something, somewhere? — Tzeentch
'Peacable' is fine. It's 'docile' that I reject. That implies weak and obedient, which is the opposite of what those protesters are. — andrewk
Do you ever do charitable work? Or donate to a charitable cause? Or even just help out someone randomly? If yes, then why don't you donate all of your income? Why not become a saint or the next Mother Theresa? — NKBJ
Do you ever do charitable work? Or donate to a charitable cause? Or even just help out someone randomly? If yes, then why don't you donate all of your income? Why not become a saint or the next Mother Theresa? — NKBJ
A commitment to doing good, or at least reducing harm in the world does not equal a commitment to sacrificing your whole life. Are there areas all people could improve? Sure. — NKBJ
Again, the fact that we can't be perfect about our commitment to a better world does not mean we toss the baby out with the bathwater and just do whatever the heck we want. — NKBJ
Our body needs meat — TheMadFool
Is it a cruel twist of fate or is it an opportunity to make life for all living things better? — TheMadFool
An imperfect commitment is not an actual commitment. What one is in fact commitment to is an ideal that sounds a lot less appealing. — Tzeentch
You're missing the point.
Charity workers and vegans alike are working towards reducing harm. Both are aware of the impossibility of total elimination of suffering. Both still find it to be a worthwhile endeavor to reduce suffering. — NKBJ
It's a commitment to reducing suffering by avoiding animal products. It's not about eliminating suffering altogether, since that is likely impossible. — NKBJ
That said the common thread that links all forms of morality is happiness and suffering. The former to be actively sought and encouraged while the latter discouraged and forbidden.
Of the two, happiness and suffering, greater weightage is given to suffering. This is perhaps succinctly expressed as ''if you can't help then at least do no harm''. — TheMadFool
That's not true. Almost all commitments we make are imperfect. — NKBJ
You do what you can. — NKBJ
And "preaching" is a red herring. This thread is about whether veganism in and of itself contains a contradiction. Whether or not certain vegans seem to you preachy is entirely beside the point. — NKBJ
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