Fwd:

["Alice Evans" <apyyae@nottingham.ac.uk>]

hey gang,

1. i think u give the pleasure of eating meat far too much moral weight.
does it really justify inflicting all that suffering? suppose i rather like a particular form of jewellry, but the metal can only be sourced from a specific mine. a mine so narrow that only small children can retrieve it, it is rather perilous. there is no rival form of jewellry which gives me equal delight. i guess it's then ok for me to use the children in this fashion, right....?

2. and not that it's remotely relevant but just as an aside. ok a bacon substitute doesnt taste like bacon, nor does it taste as good as. but various vegetarian dishes can taste even better. what about falafels? etc etc. we need not compare the bacon substitute with bacon, but compare ur bacon sarnie with other dishes.

3.  yes, david, i really like your points, but maybe its a big machine, fooling just me... or not. let's not be silly about the whole 'other mind' thing. non-human animals, particularly vertebrates share a similar central nervous system etc etc. ockham's razor, look for the simplest solution...

alice 

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--- Begin Message ---

• To: <BUPS-DIS@bups.org>
• From: "Alice Evans" <apyyae@gwmail.nottingham.ac.uk>
• Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2005 20:05:36 +0100
• Content-disposition: inline

** For Your Eyes Only **

why does rationality entail a being has no rights?

surely rights should be contingent upon interests?

if u base the granting of rights upon rationality, would it then be ok for me to murder my delirious granny who's lost the plot...? i could do with the extra cash and this dreadful weather makes a holiday rather tempting... 

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