I’ve been discussing with my sister (a big fan of her cats) about what lives we would save in an emergency. I think a human live is worth more than an animal’s no question asked but she thinks otherwhise. So to end this discussion I’m writing here.

  1. Who would you save between your cat and your worst enemy?
  2. What if it was between your cat and a stranger?
  3. Why?
  • Chainweasel@lemmy.worldEnglish
    131·
    7 months ago

    It’s a moral dilemma between a life and a life, one is not lesser than the other regardless of whether one is human or not, so the issue then becomes which one is more valuable.
    But valuable to whom?
    Society? I may think my worst enemy is a bastard but they’re likely to be a productive member of society.
    But valuable to me personally? I’m picking my cat every single time, it’s like asking to pick between your worst enemy and your child, it doesn’t even require weighing the options.

      • tamal3@lemmy.world
        3·
        7 months ago

        Not sure why you’re being downvoted. It’s legitimate to wonder in what ways “all life” matters. It wasn’t an accusatory question.

        • testfactor@lemmy.world
          2·
          7 months ago

          Yeah, I didn’t mean it as a jab. I just thought it was an interesting assertion that “a life is a life” in this context. Seemed a strong stance, and I wondered how far they carried it.

          • Chainweasel@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            7 months ago

            Honestly, I don’t think eating meat is wrong, as long as you actually use it for food. But Killing for fun or for trophies is wrong because it’s wasting a life. It’s kind of a “use the whole buffalo” philosophy I Guess. I think factory farming is wrong,
            I’m a big fan of lab grown meat,
            I learn heavily towards seafood but I don’t abstain from red meat.

            • testfactor@lemmy.world
              2·
              7 months ago

              Haha, we responded at like the same time lol. Wild.

              And fair on all counts, but it does seem at odds to an “a life is a life” position, no?

              Like, I’d assume you would be more upset if they were farming humans for meat than you are that they raise chickens and cows for meat, no?

              And are you against all farming, or just factory farming? If an old school farmer raises a cow in a field, and then kills and eats it, is that acceptable?

              And are fish’s lives not valuable? Less valuable than a chicken’s or a cow’s? It’s still a life, no?

              I’m truly not trying to be combative. I’m actively trying to understand how to jive these two positions.

        • testfactor@lemmy.world
          1·
          7 months ago

          Fair. I’d be curious how you square that with the idea that “a life is a life”?

          I don’t mean that in an accusatory way. It just seems like an inherent contradictions to me.

          And to be clear, not that you’d save your cat over a stranger or enemy. Like, I know people who would save inanimate objects before either because the emotional connection is that strong

          I mean more in the abstract that human and animal life are of equal value.

          Like, would you support the farming of people to sell their meat at the grocery store? I’d assume not, but then it feels like a contradiction to me, and I’d be genuinely interested to hear how you square that circle.