-L. wrote:
> ~patches~ wrote:
> > Humans are more important than animals
>
> Therein lies your real problem. You're a real piece of work.
>
Uh huh, this is the underlying difference of opinion. The three
Abrahamic monotheisms all say basically that the world, its plants and
animals were created for mankind to use. That idea pervades the
culture, and is reinforced for non-believers by the common perception
that we human beings have a huge amount of control over our
environment. If you want to argue persuasively that we're all guilty
of "species-ism" you have a lot of work to do. What is the source of
the obligation you feel we have to other species? Buddhists apparently
believe (I'm pretty ignorant about this) that all forms of life are
equally deserving. Why? Presumably there is some more sophisticated
reason than that you might be reincarnated as a nematode, but what is
it? -aem