Ethics and Morality in Vegetarianism

1942 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The arguments of animal rights

“The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that their treatment has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."(Schopenhauer). I always wondered why some people are not so drawn to the consumption of meat and fed up with only one thought about it. Why so many people loathe of blood, and why so few people can easily kill and be slaughter animal, until they just get used to it? This reaction should say something about the most important moments in the code, which was programmed in the human psyche. Realization the necessity of refraining from meat is especially difficult because people consume it for a long time, and in addition, there is a certain attitude to the meat as to the product that is useful, nourishing and even prestigious. On the other hand, the constant consumption of meat has made the vast majority of people completely emotionless towards it. However, there must be some real and strong reasons for refusal of consumption of meat and as I noticed they were always completely different. So, even though vegetarianism has evolved drastically over time, some of its current forms have come back full circle to resemble that of its roots, when vegetarianism was an ethical-philosophical choice, not merely a matter of personal health.

As believed, vegetarianism was originally founded in ancient India and was generally formed on ethical and moral issues. There were two religions that first accepted vegetarianism: Hinduism made the cow a sacred animal, something to be respected and admired, and over time, these ideals evolved from mere ideas to commonplace social practices. Ahimsa is the principle that...

... middle of paper ...

... Ethically: 'Spiritual' and 'Quasi-religious' Aspects of Vegetarianism." Journal of Contemporary Religion 15.1: 65-83.

Regan T. The Case for Animal Rights. Routledge, London-New York, 1988.

Regan T. The Struggle for Animal Rights. International Society for Animal Rights. Inc. darks Summit, PA. 1987.

Ryder R.D. Animal Revolution. Basil Blackwell Ltd, 1989.

Schopenhauer, Arthur. The Basis of Morality. London: G. Allen and Unwin, 1915. Web.

Sharpe R. The Cruel Deception. Thorsons Publishing Group. 1988.

Singer P. Animal Liberation. A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals. Avon Books. New York, 1975.

Spencer, Colin. The Heretic's Feast: A History of Vegetarianism. Hanover, NH: U of New England, 1996. Print.

Walters, Kerry S, and Lisa Portmess. Ethical Vegetarianism: From Pythagoras to Peter Singer. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999. Print.

Show More
Related

  • More Pros Than Cons In A Meat-Free Life Analysis

    125 Words  | 1 Pages

    The argumentative article “More Pros than Cons in a Meat-Free Life” authored by Marjorie Lee Garretson was published in the student newspaper of the University of Mississippi in April 2010. In Garretson’s article, she said that a vegetarian lifestyle is the healthy life choice and how many people don’t know how the environment is affected by their eating habits. She argues how the animal factory farms mistreat the animals in an inhumane way in order to be sources of food. Although, she did not really achieve the aim she wants it for this article, she did not do a good job in trying to convince most of the readers to become vegetarian because of her writing style and the lack of information of vegetarian

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Animal Use in Biomedical Research

    1849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Regan, Tom. “The Case for Animal Rights.” In Animal Rights and Human Obligations, 2 ed.. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989.

    Read More

  • Comparison: Marriage, by Gregory Corso & The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by T. S. Eliot

    2128 Words  | 5 Pages

    Olson, Kirby. "Gregory Corso's Post-Vegetarian Ethical Dilemma.(Gregory Corso)(Essay)." Journal Of Comparative Literature And Aesthetics 1-2 (2004): 53. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Final Essay: Animal Ethics in Animal Narratives

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    As I have progressed through this class, my already strong interest in animal ethics has grown substantially. The animal narratives that we have read for this course and their discussion have prompted me to think more deeply about mankind’s treatment of our fellow animals, including how my actions impact Earth’s countless other creatures. It is all too easy to separate one’s ethical perspective and personal philosophy from one’s actions, and so after coming to the conclusion that meat was not something that was worth killing for to me, I became a vegetarian. The trigger for this change (one that I had attempted before, I might add) was in the many stories of animal narratives and their inseparable discussion of the morality in how we treat animals. I will discuss the messages and lessons that the readings have presented on animal ethics, particularly in The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Dead Body and the Living Brain, Rachel in Love, My Friend the Pig, and It Was a Different Day When They Killed the Pig. These stories are particularly relevant to the topic of animal ethics and what constitutes moral treatment of animals, each carrying important lessons on different facets the vast subject of animal ethics.

    Read More

  • Morality and Ethics in Vegetarianism

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    As believed, vegetarianism had been originally founded in ancient India and was generally formed on ethical and moral issues. There were two religions that were the first ones who accepted vegetarianism. Hinduism made a cow a sacred animal. Over the time, there were other reasons founded by Hindus that encourage them to be vegetarians: Ahimsa principle that obliges not to injure a living creature, a fear of negative karmic impact and dietary purity. Since there was no religious law prohibiting the consummation of meat, the strong commitment to vegetarianism was based mostly on moral reasons. Buddhism had distinctive reasons for supporting vegetarianism. One of them is the first precept that tells not to kill any living organism. In addition to prohibition of killing, there was also a requirement not to participate in the murder and not to be the cause of death of a living creature. However, there was an amendment that if the animal is already dead and the man did not kill him specifically ...

    Read More

  • Animal Rights is a Cause for Vegetarianism

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reason a vegetarian diet has been preferred over meat dates back thousands of years. Take for example, the Christian tradition. Although most are now lenient, previously many great saints advocated a meat-free diet, for more reasons than one. In the beginning it was said by God, " Here I have given you all vegetation bearing seed which is on the surface of the whole earth...to you let it serve as food."

    Read More

  • Peter Singer, And Tom Regan, Peter Singer And Aldo Leopold

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    As an advocate of animal rights, Tom Regan presents us with the idea that animals deserve to be treated with equal respect to humans. Commonly, we view our household pets and select exotic animals in different regard as oppose to the animals we perceive as merely a food source which, is a notion that animal rights activists

    Read More

  • Addressing Premature Birth

    1657 Words  | 4 Pages

    Morrison, Nick. "Animal Rights and Wrongs." Northern Echo, 24 Feb. 2001: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Argument for Stopping Animal Abuse

    2126 Words  | 5 Pages

    Tom Regan, “The Case for Animal Rights,” in In Defense of Animals, ed. Peter Singer (Oxford:

    Read More

  • Animal Research and Testing, Is it Ethical?

    2169 Words  | 5 Pages

    Washington D.C.: Acropolis Books, 1978. Call Number: HV4711O5. Regan, Tom, and Peter Singer, eds. Animal Rights and Human Obligations.

    Read More

  • Should We Be Vegetarians?

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rachels, J. (2013). The Moral Argument for Vegetarianism. In L. Vaughn, Contemporary Moral Arguments - Readings in Ethical Issues Second Edition (pp. 617-622). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Read More

  • Why Eating Meat is Morally Impermissible

    1449 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vegetarians are uncomfortable with how humans treat animals. Animals are cruelly butchered to meet the high demand and taste for meat in the market. Furthermore, meat-consumers argue that meat based foods are cheaper than plant based foods. According to Christians, man was given the power to dominate over all creatures in the world. Therefore, man has the right to use animals for food (Singer and Mason, 2007). However, it is unjustified for man to treat animals as he wishes because he has the power to rule over animals. This owes to the reality that it is unclear whether man has the right to slaughter animals (haphazardly), but it is clear that humans have a duty to take care of animals. In objection, killing animals is equal to killing fellow humans because both humans and animals have a right to life. Instead of brutally slaying animals, people should consume their products, which...

    Read More

  • I Am a Vegetarian

    2484 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although vegetarians come in many forms, they are often thought to hold to a few set positions. Unfortunately, as is often the case, ascribing all (or most) vegetarians to specific camps is improper. One suspected position claims that it is wrong (or immoral) to eat meat-an act that obviously requires the slaughtering of the animal in question. Though some vegetarians hold to this position, I do not. While it is problematic that people eat excessive amounts of meat, eating meat isn't immoral in my view. And while I don't think meat eaters are somehow wrong, I certainly can understand and respect the position that eating meat is immoral. A second stereotypic position holds that vegetarians despise meat eaters. While there are certainly vegetarians that have issues with meat eaters, I suspect they are no more than the number of meat eaters that find vegetarians objectionable for some reason or another. I believe there are many acceptable ways to think and act and, thus, I don't begrudge those that eat meat or those that choose to think that it is immoral to do so.

    Read More

  • It is Better to be a Vegetarian

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    For several years the issue of eating meat has been a great concern to all types of people all over the world. In many different societies controversy has began to arise over the morality of eating meat from animals. A lot of the reasons for not eating meat have to deal with religious affiliations, personal health, animal rights, and concern about the environment. Vegetarians have a greater way of expressing meats negative effects on the human body whereas meat eaters have close to no evidence of meat eating being a positive effect on the human body. Being a vegetarian is more beneficial for human beings because of health reasons, environmental issues, and animal rights.

    Read More

  • Should we all become vegetarians?

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    Let me begin with the words by George Bernard Shaw: ‘Animals are my friends and I don’t eat my friends’. This indicates the ethic aspect of meat consumption. In fact, people often don’t realize how animals are treated, but they can see commercial spots in their TV showing smiling pigs, cows or chickens, happy and ready to be eaten. My impression is that there can’t be anything more cruel and senseless. It is no secret that animals suffer ...

    Read More

More about Ethics and Morality in Vegetarianism

Open Document