kindheart

This still seems wrong to me. Of course, as a philosophical nihilist, I realize I have no basis other than my own emotions for making that statement. It just seems unfair to me for one species of animal (let's be clear: humans are just another species of animal) to use another as property. It's fundamentally different from, for example, a lion hunting a zebra. The lion may kill and eat the zebra, but it doesn't own the zebra. It's that ownership (and the cruelty that often comes from it) that doesn't sit well with me. I never said eating meat in and of itself was unethical, I said that about factory farming and livestock production. Then keep them alive and taken care of for a generation, but don't allow them to breed anymore -- this will eliminate the problem. Anyway, this is simply another symptom of overpopulation. Such large-scale factory farming and livestock raising would be totally necessary if the human population wasn't so high. In my subjective opinion (which I realize doesn't mean much), humans aren't inherently anymore valuable than other animals, and because of this, we shouldn't take over the planet at the expense of the well-being of other species.

I'm a bit torn on this issue. On one hand, I recognize that businesses are amoral rational actors: their sole raison d'etre is to maximize profits by any means necessary. By selecting out workers who might be empathetic to customers, these banks are fulfilling their mission of profit maximization. After all, a stern, hard-nosed employee who does things "by the book" and attempts to make high-pressure sales is more likely to maximize profits than one who tries to be kind and fair to accountholders. That's capitalism, that's business, that's just how it works. On a more personal level, however, I'm quite bothered by these banks' practices, and the cold logic of capitalism in general. Although I'm technically an ethical nihilist (I believe there are no moral facts or objective moral duties), I do have a type of personal, subjective "code" I follow that basically boils down to three values: fairness, kindness, and respect for other sentient beings. It's hard to mesh those values with the cutthroat nature of modern consumer capitalism, so I'm inclined to oppose that system. Still, the problem with capitalism is that it's the worst modern economic system, except, of course, for all the others we've tried. Anti-capitalist economic and social systems, like, for example, communism and socialism, have been consistently more adept at producing human suffering than capitalism, despite the fact that the latter is founded on avarice. So, what's the solution? I'll be honest and say I don't know. The idealist in me wants to formulate some other system that can replace the profit-seeking economic we have today, while my pragmatist side says "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Either way, there's no quick fix available for something (competition and greed) for which the balance of scientific evidence says is ingrained in human nature.

As others have said, if there's no credible evidence for the existence of 'X,' the most rational thing to do is remain skeptical in regards to 'X.' In light of this, I disbelieve in deities because there's no evidence for gods or miracles. Any 'scientific' explanation of how the virgin birth / water into wine / etc. could have happened is irrelevant, because there's no evidence that such events ever took place. It's useless to discuss their plausibility without first providing some evidence that these fantastic events actually happened. However, despite my atheism, I have no problem with people who choose to hold religious or mystical views -- as long as they keep their views separate from the political sphere and don't use them as a justification for bigotry or discrimination toward others.

What, exactly, is wrong with a vegan diet? It's far less cruel than meat-eating (especially with our current factory farm system), and it is demonstrably better for the environment. As for the population problem, it needs to be addressed. We can't just keep raising the population indefinitely, and interstellar space travel is still hundreds of years away (if it is physically possible at all). Population reduction needs to be on the agenda, along with consumption control. Free them. Keeping animals for consumption is not only unethical, it is woefully inefficient and damaging to the environment. Predators would probably eat most of them, but some will survive and even thrive in the wild.

How is it emotion-based? I think the proposition that the Earth is overpopulated is backed by sound science, and the solutions being proposed here seem very rational to me.

The other option is to do nothing, keep growing, keep consuming, and find ourselves caught in a Malthusian crisis and environmental disaster. I'm not saying my suggestions should be carried out in a dictatorial way, I just said they were "ideal" in my opinion. Other people probably have better ideas. Dictatorship is not a good option, I agree, but we as a species have to come together to do something to solve the population / resource problem . . . or we can destroy ourselves and the planet we inhabit.

Why do you think we have the right to abuse, harm, and eradicate other creatures? I find such a thing highly unethical.

If we're not going to reduce our population, then we need to drastically reduce our impacts on the planet and the other species with which we share it. Ideally speaking, we'd need to: 1) Move everyone to a vegan diet. This would lower animal deaths and pollution from mass meat, dairy, and egg production. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet 2) Get rid of sprawling suburbs, as they take up valuable land that should be either used for farming or animal habitat. Move everyone into cities, small towns, or rural farmsteads. Restrict any future urban sprawl. 3) Abolish consumer capitalism. Our current economic system encourages mass over-exploitation of natural resources, and it is simply not sustainable for the planet: http://www.globalissues.org/article/238/effects-of-consumerism . Instead, we need to transition to an economic system that encourages cooperation, reuse, and as little consumption as possible. 4) Develop alternatives to the car-and-plane dominated transportation system we have today. Drastically reduce personal vehicle use, make much greater use of mass transit (in both cities and small towns), and develop alternative means of transport. 5) Zero population growth. If we can't reduce population, at least prevent it from growing any further. 6) Long term, find a way to colonize other planets. Earth is a finite planet with finite resources, and regardless of how much we conserve, we'll eventually exhaust the planet's resources or (with further population growth) exceed its carrying capacity. Spreading out elsewhere will help guarantee our species' survival.

Heavy fines for each birth above the one-child limit and criminal charges for having more than two biological children (excluding twins / multiples), combined with tax breaks (or cash payments) for electing to remain childfree, adopting, and so on.

We could always create incentives to reduce birthrates below replacement level, which, if successful, would gradually lower the population over time. That seems like the best solution to me.

Because it's very important to have gender equality in all spheres of society, especially the field of knowledge production.

There was no evidence for God's existence.

Given the lack of evidence for the existence and nature of aliens, I think any commentary on their motives is essentially meaningless speculation. Without having any information on their cultural norms or even basic cognitive processes, how could we possibly have any idea what their agendas would be?

Hi! My name is JL, I'm 27, and I'm currently a doctoral student in a fairly well-known sociology department. My research centers around the subfields of social psychology and demography, and I'm especially interested in exploring the intersection between the brain, consciousness, social interaction, and epistemology (how we know what we know). Aside from my studies, my other interests are reading (mostly fiction and poetry, some philosophy), learning more about the natural sciences (yes, I know, I'm a nerd), hiking, and listening to independent music. I'm an atheist and philosophical nihilist, but I still try to keep a positive outlook on life and existence as a whole (hey, we're here, we may as well enjoy ourselves and help make the world a better place). I look forward to having some interesting discussions around here.