Should We Eat Pork Philosophy Essay

Should We Eat Pork Philosophy Essay Nowadays, people pay more attention on choosing what we eat. At the same time, the issue of animal rights and welfare is being raised and discussed in the society. Dogs have been considered as our companion animals for over 30,000 years (Waugh, 2012), while pigs are being considered as farm animals in most countries. Dogs are loved and cared by human; staying with us and we provide them with comfortable living environment. However, pigs live in intensive factory farms with indecent living conditions, being packed in small areas and treated inhumanely, and being treated as food to human. This situation reveals the problem of unequal treatment between pigs and dogs and it leads us to the topic: should we eat pork if we do not eat dogs? Most people against eating dog meat but they allow eating pork; they object to cruelty to dogs while enjoying the produce by cruelty to pigs. We are showing our prejudice towards pigs when we are labelling them as meat, because it turns pigs as something, and we are objectifying them as food to human (Grillo, 2012). They are both animals, but what are the differences between pigs and dogs and what is wrong in pigs that make them deserve poorer treatment? Given that pigs and dogs are both animals, then they should be given same treatment. If we refuse to eat dogs, then we should not eat pork. In the following, I will be introducing the problem of moral inconsistency, followed by arguing that indeed pigs and dogs are very similar, and the value of them should be independent of their relationship with humans. Possible arguments from the opposite side, along with some responses will be addressed in the later part. Psychologists mentioned that people are always inconsistent in our attitude and behaviour, and Elizabeth Anderson once mentioned in her book that she is puzzled and confused with moral inconsistency when she saw pet owners wearing fur coat (Herzog, 2011). We are fed with absurdity when we have inconsistent attitudes and selective empathy towards pigs and dogs, and carnisim is the invisible belief system which drives us to choose what to eat (Joy, 2011). We need to be consistent in ethics so as to avoid contraction between our beliefs, values and actions. Being consistent also reflects our integrity as human beings. There are several reasons behind moral inconsistency. The A-B-C model is a widely accepted theory which talks about our attitudes. Our attitude is guided by three components, they are Affect, Behaviour and Cognition (Herzog, 2011). Attitude is how people think and feel towards something, behaviour is your action, cognition is how well you understand that issue. Sometimes, people may encounter moral inconsistency because of keeping a pet, which they are emotionally attached to dogs or other companion animals; or they do not understand how pigs suffering during the process of slaughtering, which they do not consider it as an issue to pigs to be treated inhumanely and killed. People may refuse to eat pork once they see, smell or listen to sounds and situation in the slaughterhouse. Chris Diehm, an environmental philosopher discovered that even when people are pointed out with moral inconsistency, we often think of ways to turn personal behaviour into something reasonable and justifiable (Herzog, 2011). Some of us do realise the differences in our relationships and the way we treat different pigs and dogs; however, we remove our inconsistency by changing our beliefs instead of changing our behaviour so as to feel comfortable. People are unwilling to admit that we are inconsistent or incoherent mainly due to our interest and selfishness, some love the taste of pork and they defend eating pigs. Although Hal Herzog mentioned that moral incoherence is one of the inevitable features of human nature (Herzog, 2011), it is not an excuse of treating pigs and dogs unequally. Human nature does not justify moral incoherence; rather, our human nature, especially our ability to reason and intelligence makes us distinctive from other animals. Instead, human should make good us e of the ability to reason and morality to achieve moral coherence and consistency. Now I will turn to the reasons why pigs and dogs deserve same treatment from human. First of all, pigs and dogs are similar in two ways, both psychologically and physically. In psychological point of view, pigs and dogs are also sentient animals, which they have emotions and they have the ability to experience happiness and sadness. Pigs can be both optimists and pessimists, and their living environment is one of the factors affecting their emotions (Berkoff, 2011). Furthermore, both of them have long term memory of their experience in pain and pleasure, especially for pigs, they not only suffer their own pain, but witness and remember pain of others (PETA, 2013). It has been proved in different scientific reports that both pigs and dogs are very intelligent. They can also develop complex relationships with other species, and they care what happens to them (Grillo, 2012). Each animal, including pigs and dogs has their unique personality and characteristic. In biological point of view, according to the classification of living things, pigs and dogs belong to the clas s of mammals. They have many common characteristics, such as being vertebrates, warm-blooded, having furs and hairs and sweat glands, as well as they undergo internal fertilization. In terms of physical appearance, they have similar teeth and heart structure. They can also perform simple tasks that children are able to do, and doing different tricks like jumping hoops, bowing and standing (Angier, 2009). It is also found that both pigs and dogs have certain preferences towards temperature, such as under cold conditions, dogs need to wear clothes, and pigs can turn on the heater when they are given the chance and turn it off when they feel hot (PETA, 2013). There are a lot misunderstandings or unknown facts about pigs that makes them inferior to dogs. Regarding the psychological and physical similarities, differences in biological structure or emotions do not justify unequal treatment towards pigs. Secondly, some people hold the idea that human are superior to other animals, so that we have the right to treat them according to their relationships with us, and their values depends on how close we are. Paul Taylor brought out the idea of species egalitarianism and biocentrism on the ground that not only are animals members of the community, they are also teleological centres of life that each animal is a unique individual pursing its own good in its own way (Taylor, 1986). Generally, there are three kinds of values being identified in animals, which are the commodity, amenity and moral value (Norton, 1988). Commodity value refers that species can be made into products and being sold in market, for example wool and alligators for making clothes and handbags. Amenity value refers to the presence of animals which improves our lives in a recreational way, such as fishing, hunting or watching performances. Moral value refers to values in species themselves, which includes intrinsic an d inherent value; and that value is independent of human (Regan, 2006; Taylor, 1986). The moral value is a universal value, which can be found in all species and it is the same in all species. Unlike commodity and amenity value, moral value does not come in any degree (Regan, 2006). Therefore, animals have their own life and they do not fully depend on human although different species are interdependent in some way. Even if their values depend on human, it would be a mistake if we overlook their own moral values and independence. Moral value of animals is highly related to the problem of moral inconsistency. Most people responding to some questionnaires stated that they treasured and valued the independent value of animals, which they agreed animals exist independent of any use (Randall, 1986). In spite of the findings from the questionnaires, human place commodity and amenity values on top of moral value of animals in most of the time. Those three values should come together in parallel, and hold equal importance. Furthermore, animals with further relationship with us do not mean that we should or have the rights to treat them unequally and inflict harm on them. We do not know someone does not mean we should hurt that person, and the same applies to animals. Pigs and dogs are independent creatures; they do not live for us. Despite pigs and dogs are highly similar and they have independent moral values, people hold the opposite view have other arguments that they believe it is fine to treat pigs and dogs in different way. In the following, I will be presenting their objections and some responses why their arguments do not stand. Some people may argue that pigs and dogs are very different in nature, which means they are not the same when they are born to and born for. People mean that dogs are bred to be friends and companions of human, while pigs are bred as farm animals to be food and meat to feed human. The ones holding this view consider both dogs and pigs as means to human. We should not consider pigs and dogs as tools to serve and satisfy human needs since we are not the only species on the world (Regan, 2006). They do not live for us as mentioned previously that animals have independent moral value from us. The nature indeed does not shape animals distinctively for different purposes or uses; it does not separate animals from animals into different categories. It is our intuition or practices which lead us to the idea that pigs and dogs are different. Using the example of human, we are not born to be someone; it is our experience that shapes us. Therefore, it does not make sense in claiming that pigs a nd dogs are born differently. People may say that history and our own culture contributes to the differences between pigs and dogs and the act of eating pork, it makes nothing wrong in following our customs. We develop our practices by learning from our ancestors and parents, copying their way of living including their eating habits. However, following culture and customs does not mean we are acting rightfully or the act is ethically good. For example, racism, gender inequality and slavery existed since long time ago; do we say that they are justifiable because our culture and customs that treat people in different manners and ways? We should not make judgements only base on culture and customs, but also our morality, critical mind and rational thinking. It is undeniably difficult to change our practices and beliefs in a short period of time. A person is easily being tempted when the idea of treating pigs and dogs first comes to his mind; and it certainly takes time to change our habit (Herzog, 2011). Another argument which is likely to be given by pet lovers who eat meat is that dogs have higher instrumental value. In the past, dogs hunt for human and they are being considered as loyal since long time ago. They stay with us during our ups and downs, offering love and companionship. They can protect human, our property and children, dogs are also being used to detect bombs and drugs (Wogrinrich, 2011); while pigs are only being considered as food to human. Although dogs seem to have higher instrumental values in our life, actually they are equipped with all those talents because they are trained. Some may say dogs can recognise drugs because of their sensitivity in smelling. However, when we look deeply on how dogs identify different types of drugs, it is because they are being taught by human. If they are not trained, their strengths could not be expressed. It is because we human choose them to be taught rather than pigs, it does not mean that pigs cannot perform those tasks and actions, pigs are also trainable as they are intelligent. Pigs can also be our companion animals and we can keep them in our homes. We stereotyped pigs as stupid and dirty, which refrained people from getting close with them in the past. In this way, we cannot support the argument that we do not eat dogs because they are useful, it is human who makes them useful, and we can also provide pigs with skills so that they can have higher instrumental value. Rick Dove, an animal welfare campaigner once said Its an idiotic double standard: you cant kick a dog, but you can lock a pig up in a small crate and take her piglets away before she can nurse them properly, as any mother is programmed to do. This is mans insane inhumanity at its worst. (Kirby, 2010); dog lovers who claim that they love and care about animals are contradicting if they eat pork, who truly love animals should not be morally defending causing one harm and suffering to satisfy their own pleasure. It is hypocritical to love one but totally neglecting the other. If we agree to eat pork, we should accept eating dogs as well regarding their similarity and moral values. If we refuse to eat dogs, then we should not eat pork. Years ago, people have not thought of refusing to eat shark fins due to our traditions and customs, yet people are asking others stop eating shark fins now. Some may not think of treating pigs and dogs and other animals consistently and coherently similarl y. Value changes as time passes, it is the matter of time that people should put this matter into practices. Not only between pigs and dogs, but the other animals should also be given same treatment to show our respect to them as one of the members in community.

Clothes and Fashion

A woman speak with a man about fashion and clothes. The man says than the fashion is a invention from clothes factories. The woman says that the fashion is necessary to people feel well The man prefers to wear the same clothes rye day The woman feel better when she wear a beautiful suit, and in each situation you must wear a different clothes. The man things different clothes distinguish between poor people and rich people. I'm going to talk about clothes and fashion. There are two aspects which I want to highlight: the comfort and the appearance.The comfort is the main purpose of dress because the human race began to wear clothes when went out from the hot Africa and spreader over the World and colonized cold lands. They used lots of materials to do their dresses but in the beginning with the only objective that warm the body. On the other hand clothes has a mission, it is to show the personality, the humor, the owner to a certain social status or collective. For instance the unifor m of the police, the robe of lawyers, prosecutor or Judges, or the Army. These are very import to distinguish or discriminate this people from others.When you are going to a party you must put on clothes different than you dress when you are working. The more happy you are the better clothed you wear. We used to wear dark clothes in funerals. If you had to facing in your work you should wear a suit. If you were a politician or a famous person you should dress up everyday well cause you could have a photo taken. I regretted very much don't have known dress up in a very important situation when a was a young girl I had gone to a party but I didn't liked to go there, I wearing a awful suit because my friends persuaded me to go there, and I didn't want.When the party began to be boring, I was thinking going home, suddenly a stunning boy appeared, he was wearing a denim trousers, a beautiful blue cotton shirt with a denim collar ND he was tall and handsome; he seemed very kind with his f riends but I couldn't to approach him because I was wearing a awful loadstone's suit from the times of my mother, I felt very angry with me, I thought â€Å"it is impossible that this person look at me†.

My Roles as a Teacher Essay

My role as a ICT tutor, sometimes requires me to be mentor or even an absent friend to support my learners emotionally through their learning. All of this provides me the means to enable learning to the best of my ability. I have a responsibility to ensure that students gain the knowledge and skills they require to become effective learners. Also the responsibility to meet the high standards of professional and ethical behavior required by the learner, and my profession itself. The responsibilities listed below provide guidance for me as a teacher. * To demonstrate the highest standards of professional behaviour, exercise professional judgement and act in a considerate and sensitive manner when interacting with students, or caregivers, staff and the public. * To be conscious of the need for equitable treatment of all students, including those with disabilities or other special needs; to meet the individual learning needs of students and assist each student to maximize his or her learning outcomes. To be familiar with the provisions of legislation relevant to my official responsibilities. * To perform my duties efficiently and effectively and with honesty, integrity and fairness at all times * To ensure that decisions are made fairly and conveyed promptly both within the Department and to those students and members of the public who have a right to know. * To use information gained in the course of employment only for proper and appropriate purpose. To use public resources economically * I must not, under any circumstances, have sexual relationships with students. It is irrelevant whether the relationship is homosexual or heterosexual, consensual or non-consensual . The age of the students or staff member involved is also irrelevant. * I must not, under any circumstances, engage in conduct of a sexual nature with a student. Improper conduct of a sexual nature by me against a student includes sexual intercourse and any other form of child sexual abuse (which must be notified) as well as but not limited to: inappropriate conversations of a sexual nature; obscene language of a sexual nature; suggestive remarks or actions; jokes of a sexual nature; obscene gestures; unwarranted and inappropriate touching; sexual exhibitionism; personal correspondence with students in respect of my sexual feelings for the student; and deliberate exposure of students to sexual behavior of others. Prescribed medications and non-prescribed medications (such as analgesics) should only be administered in accordance with departmental guidelines. You must not give students alcohol or other drugs, or encourage or condone the use of alcohol or other drugs by students. * I must not, under any circumstances, use any form of discipline that includes any threat of physical violence or harm, corporal punishment or engage in any form of behaviour which could cause physical, emotional or psychological harm of any kind to students. Several examples of good or acceptable behaviour Teacher-student relationships †¢ Participate in social contact with a student only after obtaining informed consent of the student (and principal where appropriate); such contact includes meetings, sporting events, phone calls or electronic communications, e. g. , emails and text messages; †¢ When acting as a student’s mentor, develop a relationship with clear professional boundaries that cannot be misinterpreted as a personal, rather than a professional, interest in the student. If a student develops a ‘crush’ on you, inform a supervisor, so independent, sensitive advice and support are available; †¢ Praise and recognise all students when appropriate, so they all feel fairly treated. †¢ Physically contact students in a way that makes them comfortable, e. g. , shaking hands, a congratulatory pat on the back. †¢ To be alert to cues from students about how comfortable they are in your proximit y and respect individual needs for personal space. †¢ Be aware of cultural norms that may influence interpretation of your behaviour towards students.

Global Climate Change Essay - 1129 Words

The believed outcome of Global Climate Change(GCC) by many people is not a good one. However it will not be as bad as 40 foot swell in the sea level, huge thunder storms, or satanic hurricanes. Yes, the world is changing, and changing in ways that we have yet to fully understand. Many people do believe that the current trend of our planets climate will inevitably end in the destruction of the earth as we know it and out of those people most believe it is entirely humans’ fault. The human not the main cause of global climate change or reason for long term GCC. In fact the recent â€Å"increaseâ€Å" in world temperature is just plain wrong. The facts is that the earth’s climate is changing. There is no denying that. It’s always changing. From†¦show more content†¦The Glaciers and snowy mountains are also disappearing. In 1910 Montana’s Glacier park had 150 glaciers compared to today where they now only have 27[Global Warming Fast Facts]. Another thing that is highly affected climate change are Coral reefs they are very sensitive to small temperature changes and the slight gains of PH in the water. The main sign that a coral reef is dyeing is that they will bleach, turn an off-white color. A survey of the coral reefs in 1998 showed some reefs had been 70% bleached[Global Warming Fast Facts]. Many people will point out how the weather seems to be getting worse. For example, there are more and forest fires[Global Warming Fast Facts]. However they are wrong; most forest fires are not a result of the environment changing but by humans and they are getting worse because of humans but not for the obvious reasons. Forest fires are getting worse because we have put them out. Many forest fires that would become big are put out before they get very far but every time a small forest fire gets put out it will mean more underbrush builds up and after years of building up an uncontrollable forest fire starts up and does allot more damage than the lots of little fires would have caused[Discovery Education Classroom Resources]. Some experts will point out heatShow MoreRelatedClimate Change And Global Change1531 Words   |  7 PagesArroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center at Georgetown Law. We can t lose another four years, much less eight years (Neuhauser). The next Americans President, experts say, may be the very last who can avert catastrophe from climate change which makes it very important for the next American President to give climate change the top most priority. This requires the Presidential candidates to believe in the danger posed by climate change. In addition to this, it also requires theRead MoreClimate Change Is The Global Climate System1369 Words   |  6 PagesClimate is part of our everyday lives. What we experience is the global climate system. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, climate change is, a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity alters the composition of the atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. (Allen, Seaman Delascio, 2009) Australia’s climate has warmed a lot more since 1910 by the average ofRead MoreGlobal Climate Change And Global Warming1054 Words   |  5 Pagesreally isn t much of a secret that global climate change is happening. From the melting of the polar ice caps, to record severe temperatures, rise in natural disasters, rise in pollution, greater number of vector-borne and water borne illnesses, and much more. Unless there is something done to change the current technology being used to provide energy to the human population global climate change will only continue to get worse. Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st centuryRead MoreGlobal Climate Change : The Global Warming1472 Words   |  6 PagesThe Global Climate Change Currently when human life is growing, human activities impact on the environment and climate to lead to global climate change. Climate change is a problem of the whole world, and that is the big challenge for human kind. So what is climate change? Evolution of how it? Climate change is the change of weather, climate, may be due to human or natural causes. The specific expression that we often hear about is the phenomenon does not stop warming the earth, the greenhouse effectRead MoreGlobal Warming : A Global Climate Change1457 Words   |  6 Pageshappened by global warming like, increasing the temperature degrees, and melting the snow mountains around the word. However, global warming has played a major role in changing the weather all over the world. The climate change all over the world is a proof that the weather conditions are changing. Global warming has made some of the hottest land cold now and the countries that never had a summer in millenniums are now having sunlight reg ularly. These are the basic changes that signify that global warmingRead MoreGlobal Warming And Global Climate Change1354 Words   |  6 PagesIt is becoming a less and less contested issue that global climate change is a significant issue. When the idea of global warming first burst onto the main stage in the late 20th century, a majority of Americans were skeptical. Many of the predictions that the original scientists made proved to be incorrect, and often the scientific methods the scientists used were faulty. Since the early stages though, the science behind global climate change has gotten better. We now have more data and better modelsRead MoreGlobal Warming And Global Climate Change1139 Words   |  5 Pages The topic of global climate change has been a much debated topic over the years. There is no real scientific consensus on global warming. However, much destruction has happened to the earth that questions the scientific or empirical link between extreme weather and global climate change. There are a lot of events that happens around the globe such as floods, increased precipitation, sea-level rise, and hurricanes that questions the theory of global climate change. Without any clear cut evidenceRead MoreGlobal Warming And Global Climate Change1531 Words   |  7 PagesIn the last twenty years, the issues surrounding global climate change have become increasingly dominant in the international community, as the implications associated with the global issue pose many threats to the environment and humanity as a whole. Beginning in the 1970’s, scientific research regarding pollution led scientists to discover that chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) where destroying the ozone layer , posing threats to plant and animal life, and humans as a rise in skin cancer followed. LuckilyRead MoreGlobal Warming And Global Climate Change1565 Words   |  7 PagesGlobal warming and global climate change has been a consistent news headline and global topic for the past two decades. From a political standpoint, there has been great debate as to whether or not humans are completely to blame, partially to blame, or to blame at all for the changes we are seeing in the Earth’s climate. However, from a scientific perspective, this is not the case. From the Kyoto Protocol, to dummy-downed explanation like in Al Gore’s â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth†, to NASA’s comprehensiveRead MoreGlobal Climate Change : The Global Warming1633 Words   |  7 PagesThe Global Climate Change Currently, when human life is growing, human activities play an impact on the environment and climate, which leads to global climate change. Climate change is a problem of the whole world, and therefore remains a huge challenge for life on Earth. So what is climate change? Evolution of how it change? Climate change is caused by natural causes or by humans which possibly fluctuates the cycle of change in weather and climate. The specific expression that we often hear about