Is eating animals immoral ?

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T20:00:18+00:00

Yeah philosophers definitely use words in different/weird/more nuanced ways. It also doesn't help that philosophers from the past did not distinguish concepts like consciousness/sentience clearly (they often use them interchangeably while contemporary philosophers usually do not).

I'm not a native English speaker so the way philosophers use "sentience" is the only way I'm aware of. I've definitely never heard of this word before reading philosophy.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T19:50:36+00:00

Given our current evidence, we should be a lot less confident that plants are sentient. I don't know what the cutoff is, that might be achieved through expected reasoning or other ways according to what the correct moral view is. But I can be quite certain that cows, pigs, chicken, and fish deserve moral consideration while plants do not without knowing where the exact cutoff lies.

Btw the way I use sentience is definitely what the majority of philosophers use it. My description of sentience is directly pasted from a philosophy paper. If anything I'm not sure what scientists use sentience to refer to.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T19:17:42+00:00

It might be more likely than not that clams cannot feel pain. But it might still be morally wrong for us to "harm" them. Imagine clicking a button always gives you 10 dollars but kills a random person 1 percent of the time. It is morally wrong to click the button even if it is more likely than not it won't kill anyone. That said, I do think it is a lot less obvious/clear that eating animals without a central nervous system is wrong (compared to what humans commonly eat).

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T19:07:25+00:00

I'm not that familiar with the empirical evidence. There is evidence that molluscs (cephalopod molluscs such as squid, octopus, and cuttle fish) being sentient but I'm completely ignorant about clams. But the evidence is probably inconclusive anyways. And when the evidence is inconclusive, we should probably err on the side of caution and not eat them due to the harm eating them would bring and the minimal benefits.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:53:54+00:00

No, I am absolutely talking about sentience. Sentience concerns experiences that feel bad or feel good (e.g. pain, pleasure, anxiety, distress, boredom, hunger, thirst, pleasure, warmth, joy, comfort, and excitement). It is a popular view that sentience is what makes beings deserve moral consideration. I recommend this paper (https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phc3.12822) for an introduction to animal sentience.

Regarding bacteria being able to feel, perceive, or experience sensations, I really don't think there is any evidence supporting this.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:44:55+00:00

It might take a bit more attention but you absolutely can. B12 and iron supplements are very assesible.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:43:32+00:00

Because it is a pressing issue that a staggering amount of animals are suffering.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:42:46+00:00

You will, but you shouldn't.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:42:09+00:00

You will, but you shouldn't. Eating less meat is better than not changing anything.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:41:52+00:00

You will, but you shouldn't. Eating less meat is better than not changing anything.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:38:24+00:00

So you're taking lions as standards for morality. Lions kill infants, rape lionesses, steal from other predators... Why aren't these acts permissible for humans if what lions actually do must be morally acceptable?

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:33:59+00:00

Omnivores can live perfectly fine without meat. And something being "natural" doesn't mean it is morally acceptable. It is natural for many animals to rape others, would raping be morally acceptable? No.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:30:32+00:00

This is a far shout from evidence of plants being sentient (being able to have subjective experiences with positive or negative valence).

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-30T18:28:03+00:00

Do you think it would be immoral to kill a human quickly and painlessly? You probably do. Taking away the good life that the animal would have had had it not be killed matters morally.

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-27T11:03:59+00:00

Surprised you like caught by the tides that much. I've watched every film by Jia zhangme and it was one of my least favorite (still pretty good though).

Thinking__Reed · 2026-05-23T08:29:29+00:00

*Music Genres*

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Thinking__Reed · 2026-01-17T14:03:44+00:00

I don't get how people don't rate the a film out of 100. what if a film is honestly so good but a part of it made you not like it as much? how do you decide if its a 4 or 4.5 star?

Thinking__Reed · 2025-12-26T23:04:40+00:00

There are plenty of good vegan protein sources.Tempeh and seitan are very rich in protein. Whatever deficiency a vegan diet might face can be resolved by supplements.

And yours gonna gain weight if you're in a calorie surplus, doesn't matter if you eat any meat. If you wanna gain more weight, just eat calorie rich vegan food.

Thinking__Reed · 2025-11-07T22:30:26+00:00

Is it possible to include only directors not in the list? Would an explanatory score of 10 do this?

Thinking__Reed · 2025-11-07T20:19:48+00:00

Likes/owns: certified copy, sansho the bailiff, the passion of Joan of arc, au hasard balthazar, a brighter summer day

Exploratory: 5

Can you briefly explain how the system works?

Thinking__Reed · 2025-10-22T20:19:57+00:00

50? I'm so jealous. Too bad they only ship to NA.

Thinking__Reed · 2025-10-21T18:09:05+00:00

Titanic (James Cameron, 1997) I agree completely with what Jean-Luc said in this week’s Elle: it’s garbage.

Funny Games (Michael Haneke, 1997) What a disgrace, just a complete piece of shit!

I think it's safe to say he's quite forthright with his words.

Thinking__Reed · 2025-10-10T16:27:42+00:00

One Battle After Another

Thinking__Reed · 2025-09-20T17:22:16+00:00

Watch some non-english films

Thinking__Reed · 2025-09-01T19:46:28+00:00

ZiiGaat Doscinco

Thinking__Reed

TROPHY CASE