kevin_strom on Nostr: I suspect that unnecessary routine or industrialized killing (as in animal ...
I suspect that unnecessary routine or industrialized killing (as in animal agriculture) inures us, not only to the drama and seriousness of ending a life (making us more likely to become brutal and ignoble in general), but also blurs our vision of the act to the point where we can't see when it really is justified or necessary.
As a wise man told me recently, the topic of killing "is surprisingly nuanced."
To give one little example: I love Nature, and go out of my way not to kill any animal, including insects. I hate poisons, and do not use them in my home. But if a swarm of bees were attacking my child I would kill them all -- and my conscience would still rest easy, and my kindness to all animals would continue unchanged.
And, further: If, say, some kind of alien creature arrived here that could mate with us and produce fertile offspring, and there was a real danger that such matings would result in our permanent replacement or hybridization, and the disappearance of our kind, then I -- who hates nearly all killing, far more than the average person -- would say that a time for extreme nuance had arrived.
As a wise man told me recently, the topic of killing "is surprisingly nuanced."
To give one little example: I love Nature, and go out of my way not to kill any animal, including insects. I hate poisons, and do not use them in my home. But if a swarm of bees were attacking my child I would kill them all -- and my conscience would still rest easy, and my kindness to all animals would continue unchanged.
And, further: If, say, some kind of alien creature arrived here that could mate with us and produce fertile offspring, and there was a real danger that such matings would result in our permanent replacement or hybridization, and the disappearance of our kind, then I -- who hates nearly all killing, far more than the average person -- would say that a time for extreme nuance had arrived.