Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia

Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by 127 on Friday January 05, 2018 @09:48AM (#16078857)

I believe that's pretty much it. I remember going fishing with my uncle as a kid and I was disturbed what I was doing to these animals but my uncle told me that fish can't feel pain. I didn't believe it then, and even less now.

To combine the eating of other animals, a rational brain and a mind at peace, you need some amount of self deception. Without it, you can only pick two.

For evolutionary reasons, it's obvious why eating meat is very beneficial. Today, it might not even be necessary for good health.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by xj9 on Friday January 05, 2018 @10:09AM (#16079008)

combine the eating of other animals, a rational brain and a mind at peace, you need some amount of self deception

i'm at peace with killing animals for food. i know that they feel pain, but life is pain in general. maybe i'm a terrible person or something, but a good bbq is def worth more than the life of a pig or a cow.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by mortenjorck on Friday January 05, 2018 @11:15AM (#16079462)

In my worldview, it is simply an immutable law of nature that more complex genera prey upon less complex ones. But as we are complex enough to empathize, we also have the moral responsibility to make the best of our predatory nature, whether that means minimizing the suffering of our prey, or minimizing the ecological impact of our predation.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by AnIdiotOnTheNet on Friday January 05, 2018 @11:20AM (#16079504)

As long as you accept then that there is no moral problem with some superior species coming along and and deciding the same about you, at least your backwards philosophy will be consistent.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by xj9 on Friday January 05, 2018 @01:57PM (#16080692)

oh yeah, totally fine! if i can't stop them, "moral superiority" isn't going to protect me anyway ;)

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by gadders on Friday January 05, 2018 @11:21AM (#16079509)

The thing is though, animals die anyway. And it's not like they die peacefully in their sleep, either. They mostly either get injured or old and starve to death, or get eaten by predators.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by InitialLastName on Friday January 05, 2018 @01:36PM (#16080540)

That's a false equivalence though; if you look into many vegetarians' justifications for their diet it often isn't the killing or eating of animals that they find objectionable as much as the intentional process of breeding and raising animals for food. I know many "vegetarians" (for want of a better word) who will willingly eat hunted or fished food, but avoid industrial meat.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by nileshtrivedi on Friday January 05, 2018 @01:13PM (#16080369)

Humans die anyway too. ;)

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by AnIdiotOnTheNet on Friday January 05, 2018 @11:19AM (#16079495)

> To combine the eating of other animals, a rational brain and a mind at peace, you need some amount of self deception.

Not necessarily. Many people who eat animals do so because they are not in a position where their nutritional needs can be met by a purely vegetarian diet (largely this is a problem of availability). When it comes to survival, I have a difficult time judging others from my comfortable position of not being in mortal danger.

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