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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 03/28/2010 : 05:00:37
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I took the liberty of lifting this from the Skeptic Summery. I think that's an important read, as it clearly shows how downright stupid people can get about the natural world.
| If you follow the comments here at Tet Zoo you'll already have seen the thread that's been developing on the 'Giant killers: macropredation in lions' article (originally posted back in February, and itself a re-post of a ver 1 article from November 2006). If you don't follow the comments, the following will be new to you. It seems that philosopher David Pearce is honestly proposing that we should feel ethically compelled to eradicate all suffering and cruelty from the natural world in order to create a sort of global vegan paradise where predators don't exist. Pearce terms this the Abolitionist Project (for more on Pearce and his ideas see this wikipedia article). His plans are, as discussed in depth on his website, theoretically plausible and involve such things as the use of brain implants, behaviour-modifying drugs, and genetic manipulation. Eventually, the lion will, literally, lie down with the lamb, hyaenas will not feel compelled to eat baby elephants alive, and - I presume - ladybirds will not eat aphids, and so on [adjacent image from Catztours]. |
Read on; it's very well done and the comments are dead, as it were, on.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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The Rat
SFN Regular
Canada
1370 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2010 : 05:33:28 [Permalink]
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| As skeptics we are supposed to avoid ad hominems, but there is nothing to be said here except that this guy so bat-shit crazy that I wouldn't let him out in public. I wouldn't allow him to be an organ donor because that level of stupidity is so high it's probably contagious. |
Bailey's second law; There is no relationship between the three virtues of intelligence, education, and wisdom.
You fiend! Never have I encountered such corrupt and foul-minded perversity! Have you ever considered a career in the Church? - The Bishop of Bath and Wells, Blackadder II
Baculum's page: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=3947338590 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2010 : 06:00:51 [Permalink]
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I'm glad at least some of those "elsewhere" links in the Skeptic Summary are being read, Filthy! (I contributed that one, as a matter of fact.)
Yeah, that's batshit insane crazy stuff. A massively bonkers misuse of anthropomorphism in an attempt to (or a wish to, since actually doing it would thankfully be so difficult) impose some kind of (supposed) ultra-Vegan human "ethics" upon the animal kingdom.
If I saw a lion lying down with a lamb, I'd tell it (from behind a barrier) to get off its ass and start predating like Darwin intended. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2010 : 06:59:13 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
I'm glad at least some of those "elsewhere" links in the Skeptic Summary are being read, Filthy! (I contributed that one, as a matter of fact.)
Yeah, that's batshit insane crazy stuff. A massively bonkers misuse of anthropomorphism in an attempt to (or a wish to, since actually doing it would thankfully be so difficult) impose some kind of (supposed) ultra-Vegan human "ethics" upon the animal kingdom.
If I saw a lion lying down with a lamb, I'd tell it (from behind a barrier) to get off its ass and start predating like Darwin intended.
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I'd take the lamb home and eat it. It would be perfectly safe to do so, as the lion would likely be dead.
I look forward to the Summery every week. Lot's of good stuff in there.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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The Rat
SFN Regular
Canada
1370 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2010 : 07:33:27 [Permalink]
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| Any engineering would have to be a constant and ongoing process. After a few generations the populations would crash, starving animals would go after new food sources out of desperation, and predators would evolve anew. It is easier for most herbivores to consume meat than for most carnivores to consume vegetation. After a few years we may see a cute little bambi with fangs like scimitars. |
Bailey's second law; There is no relationship between the three virtues of intelligence, education, and wisdom.
You fiend! Never have I encountered such corrupt and foul-minded perversity! Have you ever considered a career in the Church? - The Bishop of Bath and Wells, Blackadder II
Baculum's page: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=3947338590 |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 03/28/2010 : 07:56:14 [Permalink]
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Sooner than you think, bunky.
Siberian Musk Deer 
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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The Rat
SFN Regular
Canada
1370 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2010 : 10:26:15 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by filthy
[center]
Siberian Musk Deer |
It's a VAMPIRE, A VAMPIRE I TELLS YA!
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Bailey's second law; There is no relationship between the three virtues of intelligence, education, and wisdom.
You fiend! Never have I encountered such corrupt and foul-minded perversity! Have you ever considered a career in the Church? - The Bishop of Bath and Wells, Blackadder II
Baculum's page: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=3947338590 |
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ThorGoLucky
Snuggle Wolf
USA
1487 Posts |
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Loves bunnies; hates teh kitties
