this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2026
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[–] Redacted@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

​That is not a moral philosophy; that is the total destruction of morality.

​If your logic holds, that knowledge of a potential outcome makes the outcome morally equivalent to intentional harm, then everything is a crime.

​If you drive a car to work, you know with statistical certainty that your presence on the road contributes to the probability of a fatal accident. By your definition, you are 'intentionally' killing someone every time you get behind the wheel, regardless of whether you are a safe driver or a reckless one.

​If a parent gives birth to a child, they know with 100% certainty that the child will eventually die. By your logic, having a child is a premeditated act of murder.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

​If you drive a car to work, you know with statistical certainty that your presence on the road contributes to the probability of a fatal accident. By your definition, you are ‘intentionally’ killing someone every time you get behind the wheel, regardless of whether you are a safe driver or a reckless one.

this is a terrible analogy. we know that clearing a certain number of acres during harvest kills a certain number of animals. regardless of the ratio or number, it is non-zero. most people drive without ever being involved in a fatal crash.

[–] Redacted@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

The car analogy was about the distinction between intentional killing and unintended risk. You are now trying to make this about the statistical frequency of death to avoid the moral reality of your choices.

​But if you want to use 'crop deaths' as your yardstick, you are concerned about animals killed during harvest, however, livestock consume vastly more grain and soy than humans do. Every time you eat a burger, you are demanding the harvest of more crops than if you had simply eaten the plants yourself. If you are worried about the 'non-zero' number of animal deaths during harvest, then by eating meat, you are directly increasing that number.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

The car analogy was about the distinction between intentional killing and unintended risk.

i can easily concede that your argument from analogy was a bad one.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

If you are worried about the ‘non-zero’ number of animal deaths during harvest

only when i'm trying to point out to people that argue against animal deaths for food

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

Every time you eat a burger, you are demanding the harvest of more crops

no i'm not.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

by eating meat, you are directly increasing that number.

no, i'm not.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

livestock consume vastly more grain and soy than humans do.

humans eat about 2/3 of global crop calories, so this just isn't true

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

if a doctor gets informed consent, what do you think they're doing that's criminal?

[–] Redacted@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Whether or not a doctor obtains consent is entirely irrelevant to whether it is ethical to kill a sentient being for sensory pleasure. You are creating a false analogy because you can no longer defend your position on the original topic.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

you're the one who raised this particular analogy

[–] Redacted@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I used those analogies as reductio ad absurdum to show that your stated logic leads to absurd conclusions. I didn't raise them to debate medical ethics; I raised them to demonstrate that if we held people responsible for any foreseen probability of harm, society would be impossible.

​The fact that you are hyper-focusing on the mechanics of a doctor's consent rather than addressing why your own logic makes parents 'murderers' and drivers 'killers' proves that you are incapable of defending your actual position.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

since you seem to be admitting that's not a good analogy, do you want to try another?

[–] Redacted@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

​I didn’t say it was a bad analogy; I said you intentionally missed the point of it because you cannot defend your own logic. Pretending I 'admitted' something I didn't is just your latest attempt to keep us talking about anything other than your choice to fund animal slaughter.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

I used those analogies as reductio ad absurdum to show that your stated logic leads to absurd conclusions.

but they're bad analogies

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

​If a parent gives birth to a child, they know with 100% certainty that the child will eventually die. By your logic, having a child is a premeditated act of murder.

i think you are the one arguing that second and third order effects impose moral responsibility. i have been arguing against that.

[–] Redacted@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I have never argued that all second or third-order effects impose moral responsibility. I have argued that directly funding a service that has the killing of a sentient being as its primary purpose creates moral responsibility.

​A parent giving birth knows their child will die, but the death is not the purpose of the act, nor is it the service they are paying for. A person buying meat is paying a corporation specifically to ensure an animal is killed. You are paying for the service of slaughter.

​Having a child is a biological reality; it is not a market transaction. A grocery store purchase is a direct, bilateral contract. You give money; they give you a product that required a killing. You are the direct, primary financier of that specific act.

​You haven't been arguing against second-order effects; you have been dodging the fact that your purchase is a first-order effect. You are the reason the animal was slaughtered. If you weren't there to pay for it, the slaughterhouse would have no reason to exist.

​This debate has become a circular exercise where you redefine terms whenever you are backed into a corner.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

I have argued that directly funding a service that has the killing of a sentient being as its primary purpose creates moral responsibility.

fortunately i don't do that. most people don't.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

You are the direct, primary financier of that specific act.

impossible. the person who did the killing was already paid, and paid by someone who isn't me.

[–] CottonSeed@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

A person buying meat is paying a corporation specifically to ensure an animal is killed.

no, they're paying for a product that has already been produced.