Costello 2
"It's naive, John. It's the easy, shallow relativism that impresses freshmen. Respect for everyone's worldview. In the end it leads to total intellectual paralysis. You spend so much time respecting that you haven't time left to think. Doesn't a squirrel have a world view?" (1077)
Throughout our whole lives we have been taught to respect everyone's opinions. We spend so much time being considerate of others, sometimes we don't stand up for what we believe is right. It is important, however to try to see the world through the eyes of other people around us as well as other animals. When we did P1, it was really interesting to read what everyone came up with for writing from the animal's point of view. This forced me to analyze how a kangaroo feels on a daily basis. Imagining what they have to go through and the possible feelings they endure. Before this assignment, I never stopped to think about what animals may be feeling on any given day or when we interact with them. It is important to remember that animals have feelings too and when we interact with them to think twice about how we treat them.
"So Descartes was right, animals are just biological automata.' 'Broadly speaking, yes. You cannot, in the abstract, distinguish between an animal mind and a machine simulating an animal mind.' 'And human beings are different?'(1077)
It has always been said that an animal does not have the same capacities as humans. Although some believe we evolved from them, they still believe animals have no thought processes. However, animals are very smart creatures. They have feelings that cannot be translated by a machine stimulating an animal mind. They might not be on the same level of capacity as humans, but in their own unique ways they are aware of their surroundings, can communicate to others, and have feelings. For example, "Brains of humans and monkeys are remarkably similar in how they are organized, according to new research in the journal Neuron, which reports that the regions in the brain that control language and complex thought processes have similar connectivity in both species." (natureworldnews.com) There are countless examples of animals doing extraordinary things and showing just how much they truly know. So animals are not just
'biological automata', they are unique creatures with a unique purpose for their lives.
"She's on the right side, no doubt about that. She's a vegetarian. And there are some very strong passages comparing what we are doing to animals to the Holocaust." (1119)
This chapter opens up with Naomi talking to her father about an upcoming lecture he is attending. He is confused however because the speaker isn't using an original lecture, but someone else's. As he explains to Naomi he says that she is 'on the right side' because she is a vegetarian. As a reader you are lead to believe that he is most likely a fellow vegetarian and a huge supporter for animal rights. What determines if you are on the right side when it comes to eating meat. By now most people are bias and have their own reasons for choosing to eat meat or not. This is a completely personal decision and their is no 'right side.' Throughout the last few of our readings, there have been countless examples of comparing the treatment of animals to racism that has occurred in our history. This time, the treatment of animals is being compared to the Holocaust. In both cases they are unimaginable acts that happened to innocent people/creatures. I think when the treatment of animals is compared to human experiences we have a better understanding of how serious it is. In a way we can relate to it more when it aligns with a human experience. To show that both are bad and unacceptable.
