Vegan Philosophy Adventure/D

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# Your Positions

- We should use animals however we like, as long as we aren't just hurting them for no reason. Humans are superior! ([Start Over](/Vegan Philosophy Adventure))

# Things to Consider

Is it really true that humans are superior to other animals? In what sense, exactly? If you were locked in a cage with a lion and your bare hands, you're sure you would win right? But it's not just physical strength that animals can often best humans in. Chimpanzees outperform humans in numerical working memory tests. Bats can perceive complex shapes through sound in a way humans cannot: our brains simply lack the appropriate wiring to do this complex cognitive task (our ears are just fine). Woodpeckers outperform all but the most mathematically trained humans in various kind of statistical inference. Pigeons can outperform humans at fast-paced multi-tasking. Rats outperform humans in what are known as "implicit category-based generalization tasks". The fact of the matter is that when we try to measure "superiority" we are biased in what features we choose to look for. 

Humans are superior mostly in the way that kings are superior to peasants: they have power over them. But might doesn't make right. 

In any case, what kind of ruler would you imagine yourself to be? If you could get away with it, would you be using your power to kill people you don't like? Would you be using peasants as human footstools, and taking concubines? Or would you use your power to make the world a better place?

The fact of the matter is that using animals is not necessary to be be healthy and happy. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics released a statement that a vegan diet is healthy for all stages of life, including pregnancy and athletic training. Using animals in ways that hurt them for food or clothing is pretty much "hurting them for no good reason", in the same way using a peasant as a footstool is hurting them for no good reason. Sure, you get a nice footstool to rest your feet on which feels nice, but there is a reasonable alternative: a regular footstool. Of course, the king might argue that a human footstool feels better, it's nice and warm and soft in a way that a regular footstool can't be. But do you think, objectively, the trade-off the king is making between his own comfort and the comfort of the peasant is just and fair? Or is the king abusing his power for his own pleasure at the expense of others? 

# Select the position the best represents your views

(A) [♪ I just can't wait to be king! ♫ Give me that peasant footstool! My comfort, taste, and pleasure is a perfectly good reason to eat animals. It would only be bad if I hurt an animal for absolutely no reason, like kicking a dog just because I wanted it to see it be hurt.](A)
(A) [♪ I just can't wait to be king! ♫ Give me that peasant footstool! My comfort, taste, and pleasure is a perfectly good reason to eat animals. It would only be bad if I hurt an animal for absolutely no reason, like kicking a dog just because I wanted it to see it be hurt.](DA)

(B) [Are you kidding me? The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics are a bunch of quacks. Everyone knows you need meat to grow muscle and milk to grow strong bones. Yeah, you can technically survive on just plants, but you won't really be healthy. Just look at how frail vegans are, and then compare that to all those weightlifters who get enough protein. Your own health is a perfectly good reason to eat animals. It's our health versus the farm animals, and you can't blame a person for making that choice or expect people to sacrifice so much for a lowly animal.](B)
(B) [Are you kidding me? The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics are a bunch of quacks. Everyone knows you need meat to grow muscle and milk to grow strong bones. Yeah, you can technically survive on just plants, but you won't really be healthy. Just look at how frail vegans are, and then compare that to all those weightlifters who get enough protein. Your own health is a perfectly good reason to eat animals. It's our health versus the farm animals, and you can't blame a person for making that choice or expect people to sacrifice so much for a lowly animal.](DB)

(C) [Those examples of animals being better than humans are only for very specific tasks. But none of those animals sent a rocket to the moon, or discovered general relativity, or created cars and computers. They're impressive feats for animals, but no one really cares if a lion could win in a bare-knuckle fight, or a rat can solve a particular kind of puzzle better than a humans. Humans can invent tools to beat even the most powerful animal at any task.](C)
(C) [Those examples of animals being better than humans are only for very specific tasks. But none of those animals sent a rocket to the moon, or discovered general relativity, or created cars and computers. They're impressive feats for animals, but no one really cares if a lion could win in a bare-knuckle fight, or a rat can solve a particular kind of puzzle better than a humans. Humans can invent tools to beat even the most powerful animal at any task.](DC)