Philosophical Vegan Forum

Hello, I am new here. I have been vegetarian for about five years and I am mostly vegan now. Hope to join the conversations here!

Welcome Hodlbtcxrp!
What inspired you to go vegetarian, and now (mostly) vegan? What are you more curious to learn about?

Hey sorry it took two years to respond!

I am fully vegan now

I am doing it for ethical reasons. I find it horrific that animals are exploited and are suffering. To be honest I find it hard every day to control feelings of anger and misanthropy. I guess I'd like to learn how to control or tame my misanthropy while still being a realist who is not overly optimistic or naive.

Hodlbtcxrp wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2024 9:23 am I am doing it for ethical reasons. I find it horrific that animals are exploited and are suffering. To be honest I find it hard every day to control feelings of anger and misanthropy. I guess I'd like to learn how to control or tame my misanthropy while still being a realist who is not overly optimistic or naive.

It can be hard (I had an angry phase too). Just keep in mind that most people aren't really thinking about it much, and they're so separated from the process that the violence may not seem real to them. Also beware of the mind projection fallacy, while knowingly supporting violence may be unthinkable to you, other's people's brains may be wired fundamenally differently from yours and this can make it difficult to convince them with the same arguments. Try not to get frustrated when this happens. And know that simply existing around people as a vegan is quite powerful in and of itself (and sometimes it really is all that you can do).

aroneous wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2024 10:43 am

Hodlbtcxrp wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2024 9:23 am I am doing it for ethical reasons. I find it horrific that animals are exploited and are suffering. To be honest I find it hard every day to control feelings of anger and misanthropy. I guess I'd like to learn how to control or tame my misanthropy while still being a realist who is not overly optimistic or naive.

It can be hard (I had an angry phase too). Just keep in mind that most people aren't really thinking about it much, and they're so separated from the process that the violence may not seem real to them. Also beware of the mind projection fallacy, while knowingly supporting violence may be unthinkable to you, other's people's brains may be wired fundamenally differently from yours and this can make it difficult to convince them with the same arguments. Try not to get frustrated when this happens. And know that simply existing around people as a vegan is quite powerful in and of itself (and sometimes it really is all that you can do).

That was well said.

Also, welcome Hodlbtcxrp, sorry I'm a couple years late.

It can be hard (I had an angry phase too). Just keep in mind that most people aren't really thinking about it much, and they're so separated from the process that the violence may not seem real to them. Also beware of the mind projection fallacy, while knowingly supporting violence may be unthinkable to you, other's people's brains may be wired fundamenally differently from yours and this can make it difficult to convince them with the same arguments. Try not to get frustrated when this happens. And know that simply existing around people as a vegan is quite powerful in and of itself (and sometimes it really is all that you can do).

Thanks for your encouragement. I really do find it hard because on one hand I want to believe in humans, believe that deep down they are good and that they do what they do because they don't know any better. But what if they truly do know what they are doing but they keep harming animals because they are inherently bad? I keep thinking of "battered woman syndrome." It's easy for someone in a position of impotence to want to believe in the goodness of an aggressor, but for a battered woman, accepting the true nature of the aggressor can allow her to formulate plans to escape. This is something I think of often.

Hodlbtcxrp wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2024 7:47 am Thanks for your encouragement. I really do find it hard because on one hand I want to believe in humans, believe that deep down they are good and that they do what they do because they don't know any better. But what if they truly do know what they are doing but they keep harming animals because they are inherently bad? I keep thinking of "battered woman syndrome." It's easy for someone in a position of impotence to want to believe in the goodness of an aggressor, but for a battered woman, accepting the true nature of the aggressor can allow her to formulate plans to escape. This is something I think of often.

I think it's the case that as vegans we have to take on a much more nuanced view of people than just being "good" or "bad". We should be consistent in condemning bad actions independently of our overall impressions of people. Humans do many terrible things, but we also do a lot to help each other and other animals. To explain my mixed feelings about humanity to a non-vegan, I might ask them how they might feel if they knew a scientist who was in the process of curing cancer, but beat his child every morning. Most people would feel comfortable denouncing that, even if the scientist claimed it to be a necessary aspect of their creative process. Veganism can be a bit difficult since we have to constantly acknowledge this kind of nuance in our understandings of the moral character of the more ordinary people in our lives.