Professional Documents
Culture Documents
[Argument)
A CARNIVORE'S
CREDO
Le
treatment of animals, like much else
that was once the prerogative of religion, has become a matter of ordinary morality, with no
shortage of sermons directed at hunters, fur
wearers, and carnivores by puritans who cannot abide the sight of sinful pleasure. Eating animals has hecome a test case for moral theory in
Western societies. In confronting opponents of
meat eating, we find ourselves exploring the
grounds of moral judgments, and the nature of
the beings who make them.
The moral life, I believe, rests on three pillars: value, virtue, and duty. Some hold that all
the weight can be made to rest on only one of
them: value, according to utilitarians; duty, according to their deontological
opponents.
Whether or not any such reductions can be
successfully carried out, we cannot give a coherent account of the moral life without doing
justice to all the conceptions that support itto value, virtue, and dutv-s-and showing their
place, for human beings, in the good life.
I have a strong urge to place at the very center of the subject, especially since the subject is
our relation to the natural world, another aspect of human nature, often left out by the
standard treatments of ethics: namely, piety. By
this I mean a disposition to acknowledge our
weak and dependent state and to face the surrounding world with due reverence and humility. It is the residue of religion in us all, whether
or not we wish to admit it. It is the attitude
that many people-environmentalists,
conservationists, and animal-welfare .activists included-are
attempting to recapture in a world
where the results of human presumption are so
depressingly apparent.
Unlike other animals, we are self-conscious.
We do not live, as they do, only in the "world
of perception," to use Schopenhauer's phrase.
Our thoughts and feelings range over the actual and the possible, the probable and the necessary, what will be and what ought to be.
Upon these basic facts-traditionally
summarized by saying we are rational animals-other
and more remarkable facts depend. We have
moral, aesthetic, and religious experiences; we
pray to things visible and invisible; we laugh,
sing, and grieve; are indignant, approving, and
dismayed. And we relate to one another in a
special way. Human beings are actual or potential members of a moral community, regulated
by concepts of right and duty, in which each
member enjoys sovereignty over his own affairs, so long as he accords an equal sovereignty
to others. With all this comes an immense burden of guilt. Morality and self-consciousness set
us in judgment over ourselves, so that we see
READINGS
21
[Solicitation]
DARPA seeks innovative proposals to develop insect-cyborgs, possibly enabled by intimately integrating microsystems within insects during early stages of their metamorphosis. The
final demonstration goal is the delivery of an
insect within five meters of a target located one
hundred meters away, using electronic remote
control and/or global positioning system. The
insect must remain stationary either indefinitely or until otherwise instructed and be able to
transmit data from relevant sensors, yielding information about the local environment. These
sensors can include gas sensors, microphones,
video, etc. Although flying insects are of great
interest (e.g., moths and dragonflies), hopping
and swimming insects could also meet final
demonstration goals.
22
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"Monument Diner," by Marcus Doyle, was exhibited in February at the AlP AD Photography Show, in New Yark City,
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READINGS
23
[Apology]
A BANANA
IN THE SUN
From a letter written by Robert S. Poydasheff, the
mayor of Columbus, Georgia, to Gwen Stewart,
who had complained about policemen eating banarws
at a civit-rights march in January 2005. According
to Poydasheff, she considered the banana "an affront," though she would not specify why. Local
media speculated that Stewart perceived the fruit as a
slur equating African Americans with apes.
Dear
M's. Stewart,
I am sorry you found Columbus police officers
eating bananas on the street when you arrived in
Columbus for the protest. Let me assure you there
was no intent to offend. The officersneeded some
nutrition after standing long hours on the street,
and they particularly needed the potassium available in bananas and some other fruits.
Accordingly, they were given bananas along
with some drinking water. There was no
thought of insulting or offending anyone, and
perhaps that was thoughtless on our part. In
any case, let me offer my sincere apology for
anything our officers may have done that gave
offense to you or anyone else. I want to assure
you that it will not happen again. I want to encourage you to come back to Columbus and
get to know us better. You will find this a
place where African Americans and all other
people are valued equally and are welcomed
to full participation in community life.
Again, I am sorry you were offended, and I
hope you will accept this sincere apology.
Respectfully,
Robert S. Poydasheff
24
26
[Consultation]
FIRE AWAY
From a list of questions, believed to have been
asked by recruits at Al Qaeda training camps in
Afghanistan. found by U.S. forces in 2002 in a
"safe house" in Kandahar. The questions, which
date from 2000 and 2001, were released in February by the Combating Terrorism Center at
West Point.
I came here to become prepared for jihad, but I
did not tell my parents. Am I at fault for not
telling them?
In the past, Muslims feared American military
power. Nowadays military operations prove that
it is possible to hit the enemy, but we are facing
another problem-the cultural and intellectual illvasion. People have come to love Western civilization and Westerners themselves. How should
we deal with this problem?
I live in Europe, not because I migrated but because I was born there. What is the ruling on
stealing their possessions and killing them in
their homes?
Dear Sheikh, don't you see that purchasing locally
produced goods,even if they are highly priced, will
solve the globalization problem?
How can one gain political analysis and knowledge of events? Is it by listening to the news or
reading books? What books would you advise
reading to gain political knowledge?
You mentioned that scholars, scientists, teachers,
and students accompanied the Prophet to battle.
There was no excuse for anyone when it came to
jihad. What should we say to our famous scholars
who did not participate in jihad against Russia in
Afghanistan and against Serbia in Bosnia?
Is there a plan to attack the U.S. naval bases,
and how could I work in this field?
One of the Prophet's teachings states: "Hell is
awaiting him who lies in order to amuse the
people." On this subject I have the following
question. At times, one of the guys speaks jokingly-we ask him if there is tea and he answers
no. A short while later he gives you tea. Do you
consider this type of joke a lie, or not?
lowe some money to Muslims back home and I
came to the land of jihad after a friend promised
to pay this debt. I don't know whether he did or
not. Should I go to the front line or not?