What roles do emotions and reasoning play in choosing a vege

Fun Fact

Were you aware of what is in the meat you're eating?

Language

Language is a way of knowing based on communication, which can aid us in acquiring knowledge.

Questions to keep in mind :

Language in Vegetarianism Advertising

How does language shape the way we think?

How can specific terms interfere with our willingness to understand a vegetarian diet?

How do the words used to describe or justify vegetarianism affect our understanding and perception of it?

Language and Vegetarianism

Conclusion

In this manner stereotypes are created around the idea of a vegetarian diet. It is viewed as healthy, natural and "right", leaving all other diets..."wrong"?

In order to explain something, language is necessary. When explaining or justifying a meatless diet people tend to use words with strong positive or negative connotations such as:

BAD FOODS

So, what roles do emotions, reasoning and language play in the choosing of a vegetarian diet?

FAT

RIGHT

WRONG

Counter-Arguments

UNHEALTHY

ORGANIC

NATURAL

Emotions are a key factor used in the choosing of vegetarianism. They are tied with both language and reason, enhancing our conclusions/deductions with evidence only we can feel. However, they may differ severely from person to person and any justification using emotions is difficult to judge or understand.

HEALTHIER

All of these ideas presented are stereotypes created by people either pro-vegetarianism or severely against vegetarianism. If we use deductive or inductive reasoning, or logic of any kind to evaluate these claims, wouldn't we come to the conclusion that stereotypes do not hold any real value?

The reasoning behind choosing a meatless diet can depend on a person's past experiences, system of values, background and education.

REAL FOOD

HEALTHY

GOOD FOODS

Reason

Do these labels impede on our objective perception of this diet?

Language has a strong influence on people, especially where connotations and associations are concerned. This leads to the creation of certain stereotypes surrounding vegetarianism - which either motivates or demotivates prospective herbivores.

Reason is way of knowing, which relies on our instinct and prior knowledge to help us make decisions.

Inductive reasoning- producing a general conclusion from a specific case.

Deductive reasoning – leads to specific conclusions based on the weighing up of general principles.

The importance of the factor is dependent upon the person. It is difficult, if not impossible and irrational to judge, which of these is the most valuable.

Humans mostly rely on induction in everyday life to make decisions.

An example of this would be the change from an omnivorous diet to a strictly plant-based diet after prior experience, favoring a meatless diet.

Primary premise: Humans aim to be healthy.

Secondary premise: Diet is an important factor leading to overall health.

Conclusion: To be healthy, humans need to pay specific attention to their diets.

Reason and Vegetarianism

These are not necessarily true, as they are generalized premises.

Vegetarianism

Health – Logical reasoning and evidence leads to the conclusion that a healthy diet is mostly plant-based.

Animal Rights – Since animals are living beings, and it is wrong to kill living beings, eating animals is wrong.

Global Warming – A large amount of harmful gases are produced in cattle farming, which contribute to global warming. Lessening meat consumption will aid in slowing down negative effects of climate change.

Counter-Arguments

Each person's method of reasoning differs based on their own personal experiences, background and personal characteristics.

Vegetarianism : the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat – red meat, poultry, seafood and the flesh of any other animal.

HEALTH- People have different dietary needs; children especially require a specific amount of nutrients to ensure their proper development.

GLOBAL WARMING- Cattle production is not the only cause of global warming; there are a variety of other, more important factors such as vehicle pollution.

ANIMAL RIGHTS- Not everyone considers animal rights; some people view animals as food only.

Sources

Paleolithic diet – A diet imitating that of cavemen, who primarily ate meat and certain plants. Lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, helps with weight loss and promotes optimum health.

Does the term "healthy" differ from person to person?

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/diet-review-the-caveman-paleo-diet

Examples of Diet Subtypes:

• Frutarianism - allows only fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant parts that can be collected without harm.
• Veganism- excludes dairy and all animal by-products as well
• Pescetarianism - allows fish and other forms of seafood
• Pollotarianism - includes chicken

http://www.theoryofknowledge.net/ways-of-knowing/reason/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michellemaisto/2012/04/28/eating-less-meat-is-worlds-best-chance-for-timely-climate-change-say-experts/

Emotions

Vegetarianism Now

A study conducted by the Vegetarian Times showed that 7.3 million people in the USA are vegetarians.

http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/global-warming.aspx

Emotions are a way a knowing, one that is very difficult to assess and classify because of their intangibility.

http://www.statisticbrain.com/vegetarian-statistics/

Emotions influence the way we shape our thoughts and make decisions.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21258509

"A study of 44,500 people in England and Scotland showed vegetarians were 32% less likely to die or need hospital treatment as a result of heart disease."- BBC News (July 2013)

"This study suggests that vegetarian diets may decrease the incidence of all cancers combined and these preliminary results particularly show a decreased risk of female-specific cancers (vegans) when compared with non-vegetarians, and gastrointestinal cancers (lacto-ovo-vegetarians)." -Gary Fraser, MD, PhD - Loma Linda University (December 2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

Six primary emotions:

1. Happiness

2. Sadness

3. Fear

4. Anger

5. Surprise

6. Disgust

Emotions tied with choosing a meatless diet :

• Sadness - Cruel treatment of animals, murder of living beings
• Fear - Chemicals and additives in processed meat and other products
• Anger - Unfair treatment of animals
• Surprise - First learning about the treatment of animals
• Disgust - Eating another living being, knowing what people put animals through

'A staggering 51 percent or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture, according to a report published by the Worldwatch Institute.' - PETA.org

'According to the United Nations, raising animals for food is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." ' -PETA.org

• Can emotions have a rational basis?
• Can emotions be trusted?
• How can we judge emotions if everyone experiences them differently?

So, when someone justifies a diet with emotional involvement, is this a rational, acceptable argument?

Does the fact that pigs learn their names by 2 weeks of age have more of an impact on you than the fact that they feel pain and love?

Counter-Arguments

Everyone experiences emotions differently. Something that makes someone sad, for instance the death of a cow, can not have any emotional effect on someone else.

Emotional scales vary from person to person.

Are emotions a valid justification for a diet? How can we test this validity?

Does a diet need to be justified?

Emotions cannot be tested in an unbiased manner since everyone's perception of the world is different.

How many of you eat meat without a second thought?

What roles do emotions, reasoning and language play in choosing a vegetarian diet?