february of frozen fingers

animal ethics stuff

2011-05-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

Okay- maybe it has been too long and I should just start a new blog- but I'm too lazy for that.

What I'm up to these days is attempting to write a thesis on animal ethics.

Basically, in seriously compacted nutshell I want to argue that consideration of the particular relationships we stand in matters in determining what our positive obligations are to animals.
Most of the animal ethics literature up to date focuses on establishing that animals matter morally by showing that they fall into the category of beings that matter morally- by possessing the relevant characteristics (sentience/ ability to feel pain, pleasure and have interests etc.)

While this is clearly an important aspect of determining who matters morally, once we have accepted that animals qualify (and most people do accept these arguments- come on- you don't actually think there is nothing wrong with torturing a kitten for no reason- do you?) there are still important and interesting questions about what this means on an everday level. Particularly what we owe to animals in light of acknowledging this moral standing.'

So, the idea that I want to explore is what role relationality plays in helping us determine our moral obligations to animals. I want to claim that we have more extensive obligations to animals that we stand in particular relationships to than we do to animals whom we do not find ourselves connected to through varieties of relationships. Relationships where we (humans) have created vulnerability and dependence in animals are those which generate the most extensive obligations- with the extensiveness of obligations corresponding to the degree of vulnerability and dependence. So, for example, on this view we would have more extensive obligations to a domestic cat than we would to a wild fox, simply in virtue of the fact that we have created much more vulnerability and dependence in domestic cats who rely on us for food and shelter than wild foxes who presumably manage well enough on their own.

This kind of relational thinking allows that we can still have obligations to less domesticated animals when and where we create vulnerability and dependence. So, if we displace the 'wild' foxes by building an urban housing development in the foxes natural territory then we find ourselves with more extensive obligations than we had before-or than we have to other foxes whom we have not displaced. It also implies extensive obligations to agricultural food/ farm animals. Not only have we made them super dependent on us (in fact, many species might not still be around if we hadn't gotten involved- which raises other interesting moral questions for another day)- but we have also bred them to be modern industrialized economic units to the detriment of their health and wellbeing- (for examples check out this report on Modern breeding technologies and farm animal welfare)

There are principled reasons to consider the interests of animal- namely, that they are sentient subjects, capable of pain and pleasure, whose lives can be made better or worse. Animals are also an interconnected part of our communities and ecosystems whose lives impact us and others in countless ways seen and unseen. The real debate is not over whether or not animals have morally salient interests, but what the extent of these interests are, what our obligations to them are, and when, if ever humans interests can justifiably trump other animal interests.

We can all agree that any sentient being has an interest in not being harmed. But animals are harmed every day, in horrible and cruel ways, for reasons that rarely if ever stand up to scrutiny.

How do we balance individual interests against the interests of a community at large? Does How do we renew the bonds that hold a community together while respecting the individual interests of its members?

Caring.

But wow do we get people to care for each other? And not just care for those we stand in mutually beneficial relationships to, but to care for all Others?

We need to respond to the face of the radical other with respect not fear. We need to become aware of ouselves as radical others to others. We say I-Thou, not I-It. We need to understand our own subjectivity through the recognition of the subjectivity and vulnerability all others around us. We need to not simply categorize others as object, as friend, as foe, as business associate, coworker, boss, colleague, neighbour, child, parent, brother, sister, lover. We stand in such relationships to be sure- but fundamentally we stand in relationships to other vulnerable subjectivities which defy such simple categorizations.

What would we be without others? Could we be without others?

When it comes to animal others- we need to stand in a relationship of I-Thou, not I-It.

plain white pasta

2010-04-10T12:54:00.001-07:00

I am thinking about posting here again, but am unsure what to post about.
My life is boring these days. All week long I read, think, attempt to write and complain about reading, thinking and failing at writing. On the weekends I visit Eric and feel stressed because I should really be reading, thinking and attempting to write. I miss the excitement of traveling, and meeting new people, and seeing, feeling, hearing exciting new things. Things in the world, not ideas. How is it that I'm living in one of the most beautiful places in Canada (at least according to the locals who rarely see a reason to leave the island) but not experiencing it. Is an M.A. in philosophy worth this? Is an MA in philosophy worth anything? I had such high hopes and expectations about what I would get out of this, and how satisfying it would be. I thought because I like theory so much I would like to do it 24/7. I was wrong. I should have known better. Who likes doing anything 24/7? If variety is the spice of life, I have been eating plain white pasta for the last 8 months.
On an optimistic note, my courses should be finished next week. And I am about to experience my very first summer in a city!

Moomin valley

2007-11-02T06:22:00.001-07:00

Wednesday my life was due, I had a presentation and an exam in Political Philosophy, and a finance assignment due. Everything went well, but, apart from watching the Office I have been doing nothing since but lazing around reading Moomin adventures. Tove Jansen is such a brilliant children's writer. She is Finnish and maybe that is why her stories end so well. They are so magical, full of quirky melancholic characters with names like Snufkin, Mymble, and Toft. Snufkin is an adventurer who likes to be alone alot, he doesn't like to tell stories about his adventures because as soon as he tells them he looses the memories and remembers only the stories he's told. My children are going to be raised on Moomin books, to ensure they become dreamers..
Eric has begun French classes that start at 8:30 in the morning, this is a huge schedule change since none of my classes start before noon. So far I'm trying to get up when he does and work in the silence. The closest I've come is writing here and practicing the drums. Oh well, I am happy with that much since it is more that I accomplished before. Maybe I'll start the Spinoza paper a week in advance.

Doves follow-up

2007-10-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

We made these birds on sunday.

Doves

2007-10-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

blasted. it has been so long...
apparently this is what I do when I stay home to study on a saturday night while eric and friends go out. Alas mid-terms are near and Nikki is coming to stay with us just before, so I'm trying to study before she gets here. . .
It is getting cold out, winter coat cold. Mitts and scarves and toques cold. I love winter's nearness.
Tomorrow is craft day, we are going to enforce gender binaries by having female craft and male craft projects. I think the 'boys' will be crafting electronic devices with wires and unaesthetic purposes, while the girls craft whatever they damn well please. Secretly, this Sunday Afternoon is for Adrienne, in hopes that she will grace us with some more spoken word done right.
Incidentally, I should be getting back to work.

dreaming of hibernation

2007-06-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

It is late-mid-June, I am sitting in a truck in the middle of Fort. St. James and it is my first day off in 9 days.
We have been working extra-long days in order to finish up a certain part of our contract for yesterday- so that we can start working even longer days to finish the rest of our contract by July 1st. This leaves me far away from thought that strays from work-eat-sleep
On a brighter note I have been driving quite a bit- which I love. Eric and I had our anniversary a few days ago, our crew is awesome, we plant a whole lotta trees and make a whole lotta money. I guess that is why we are here.
I met a bear, who stole my planting silvy full of trees. There is so much wildlife here! we see bears at least everyday, we've also seen wolverines, foxes, wolves/coyotes, huge birds, many moose(s)-including a baby moose that was cached on our block, and died after its mother didn't come back for three days...very very sad.
I am tired, sore and excited about the break....

suoenallecsim

2007-04-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

While I am fully aware that it is no longer february, clearly the weather gods here in Montreal were not informed. Tonight I ventured outside to eat birthday cake that Chantal (the cupcake lady) had made for JP's birthday- it was delicious- but in the fifteen minutes it took me to walk to their home the rain turned into fairy flakes, and not the 'wussy', absent-minded kind. What does wussy mean anyways? Fairies are pretty powerful- certainly these ones were because by the time I reached J&J's doorstep they were piled centimetres high- and after playing Cranium (which I almost won by correctly spelling miscellaneous backwards, I walked home through at least three inches of snow.
I miss eric.
"When you know that all is light you are enlightened" that is what the label on my tea bag says- Yogi tea, go figure, I guess Yogi's believe in something like truth with a capital T. I wonder what the characteristics of postmodern Yogi theory might be, though, I suppose when you know the Truth you might not need to keep re-inventing or re-evaluating... but I think that is precisely why absolute Truth is dangerous.
wait- if I am going to write about this I might as well be finishing my essay..

experimental B-fasts

2007-02-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

Today's experimental breakfast consisted of homemade vegan no rise garlic/rosemary bread and homemade vegan banana bread, with XXX mustard and homemade vegan nutella. Taylor's new girlfriend Jaea is vegan, and so are the breakfasts. My favourite combination was the nutella on B-bread with a bit of C-pepper (cayenne).
Previous experimental breakfasts:
-Multicolored pasta with fresh fruit and a dark chocolate Marscapone cheese sauce.
-Breakfast sushi; mango and oatmeal rolled in green colored crepes with chocolate soya sauce , thinly sliced strawberry ginger and minced kiwi wasabi.
-vegan crepes (mango crepes) stuffed with black beans, cilantro, mustard, and almonds.
Future experimental breakfasts:
homemade bagels with thought forms inside.
Last semester I met a girl who believed that thought forms can be transferred through food. We were taking an intro course on Buddhism together and she moved into my old place when I moved out. Though I suppose we are both living there and here at the same time, since our notions of individuality have been shattered. When she first met my roomates they asked her what sort of music she liked to listen to and she responded with 'animal sounds'. Has anyobdy heard the new album by Animal Sounds?
Over christmas it was decided that by next year we will have created a dance-mix boardgame, where everyone participates somehow, doing impressions of Michael Jackson, or Shakira,or maybe Patrick Swayze. While the details have not yet been worked out we have decided to create a sound track to accompany the game...so far it involves mashing Gotan Project with M.I.A., at least, I would like it too. Tomorrow we are going to the Knowlton to ski beside a fireplace and polish our scrabble skills- and yes, I have finally learned to play a version other than GO- scrabble, though Go scrabbles suits my attention span best.

brightblue is not my favourite color

2007-02-11T13:37:00.001-08:00

Eric and I are sitting on Leah and Sam's little figeroo while they sit on Sam's Aunt's clowder of five fine felines. This afternoon I was taking a shower and Figeroo climbed all the way to the top of the shower and tried to walk along the ledge. Our shower is the standard, stand-up in the corner of any sized bathroom kind, with white stripes on plastic that looks like glass. It has maybe an inch at the top. Clearly it was not designed with pets in mind. I do not have pets in mind, though I have other things in mind. I bet that Sam's Aunt's shower was designed with pets in mind. She probably has a bathub with at least several inches around the oustside for the cats to safely walk on.
I do not plan to write anything very unimportant in this blog, I do most of that writing in my 'blog on paper'. I just want to procrastinate as much as possible while maintaining the appearance of typing a paper. Also I miss being listed as a link on sibling blogs.