Should we care about the life of an ant?

Discussion in 'General Philosophy' started by Why?, Sep 21, 2007.

  1. Oniw17 ascetic, sage, diogenes, bum? Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,423
    Yes, it is. Because even if some people think you should, you shouldn't. To be worried with something so petty is a waste of time and a pointless distraction at best. To even take the time to post in this thread makes me feel like an idiot. How hard is it? If you don't want to kill an ant, don't, but you shouldn't care about whether the ant lives or dies(like I said, it's a waste).
     
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. Enmos Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    43,184
    Yes but what I am aiming at is, why is it bad if it has no purpose ?
     
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    25,817
    guess what...

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. Enmos Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    43,184
    Do you realize this is a discussion forum ? :bugeye:
     
  8. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    25,817
    because I'm the Mom and I said so :spank:
     
  9. Enmos Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    43,184
    Not good enough.
    Do you agree that it's a moral lesson you are trying to teach them ?
     
  10. shichimenshyo Caught in the machine Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,110

    I'm not saying when an ant dies you should have a funeral for it, im saying that perhaps you should not just kill the ant for the sake of killing it. in the long run a single ant really doesnt matter, but then if it doesnt matter and its a waste of time why even bother taking the 2 seconds it takes to kill it
    ?
     
  11. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    25,817
    ummm, don't waste food? Don't play rough with your food?
     
  12. Enmos Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    43,184
    Wha ?
    Are you deliberately being evading ?
     
  13. shichimenshyo Caught in the machine Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,110
    enmos has a point just admit it lol
     
  14. maxg Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    710
    So do I owe a moral obligation to viruses? Amoebas? Am I obligated to help them survive in bad weather? Should I build a little lion house for them? Make sure they have proper healthcare? Where does this moral obligation stop?

    Maybe I'm too subtle here for you, but as I said it would be easy to show that mass killings of animal life would have a negative impact on humans. If you want to play with hypotheticals, if some aliens came to and announced they would only save one species, which one would you chose?

    As I said, my concern would be her well being not that of the ants. I don't buy that kids just kill things for fun, but even if that were the case I wouldn't want her to be the sort of person to kill things for fun. It is the sort of behavior that reflects poorly upon her as a person, but I wouldn't want her to be the sort of person that blows up mountains either for fun. But it's her and how she represents herself that is my concern. Not the ants or the mountains.

    No I have consistent answers and your attempts at prodding, aparently to either convince me to change them or to show an inconsistency that isn't there aren't going to work.
     
  15. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,848
    i dont think killing is right, unless in self defence or for food. when i was a little kid i used to kill bugs like everybody else, but i feel bad about it now i am grown.

    cold blooded killing of any animal in my opinion is wrong, no matter how small or ugly the creature is. i go out of my way nearly everyday to save insects, i never kill spiders or anything else that comes into my house. i just pick them up and put them outside, or if they are too frail and small to mick up i let them walk into a glass and then throw them outside.

    i know it might seem strange but i also dig little graves for insects that i kill by accident, then cover them up and plant a little headstone for them (usualy a nice stone i find). its all down to subjective morals at the end of the day though isnt it. but i regard all life as equal to my own, from ant right up to humans. it is still a part of this earth and has the same life energy as us all. i dont pick flowers for people either, i would rather give them a living plant in a pot as a gift than a dead bunch of flowers. i do cut down small trees from time to time to make walking sticks or arrows though when i am wandering around natural lands outside of settlements.


    all life is worth something to me, either every life form is equal and worth alot, or they are all worth nothing. i class the earth as a living thing, and everything alive on the earth is just a part of the overall living thing.

    if you step on an ant just to kill it its no different than somebody shooting your mother just for the fun of it. what is a human if not just another living animal on this earth?. life is precious in all its forms, i wouldent want to take life away from anything unless i have too.

    peace.
     
  16. Looney Whaaaaat? Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    301
    I killed a spider today. Deliberately. Then it began to rain. Does this make me a bad person?
     
  17. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,848

    bad and good are subjective to human morals and ethics, in some peoples opinion you are are bad for doing it, in others you are not. its never a set in stone case when it comes to ethics, there is always for and against arguments that divide people.

    if the spider was a threat to your safety then in my eyes you have every right to kill it, all animals have the right to protect themselves from harm. but if it was a harmless spider that did not pose a threat why would you kill it and not just put it outside?.

    if a little bunny rabbit came into your house would you break its neck? or would you put it outside?. or if a kitten came into your house would you stamp on it?, or for some strange reason a human child came into your house and was lost, would you kill it?

    peace.
     
  18. Looney Whaaaaat? Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    301
    It wasn't a black widow but a mere daddy long legs. I killed it because I was too lazy to put it outside and I am an arachnophobic. (sorry for the misspelling) No, I had no right to kill it. Spiders are very useful.
    Mammals are warm blooded, bigger therefore harder to kill and would suffer more. Also they are cuter. :shrug:
     
  19. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,848
    i think those type of spiders can actualy harm humans, but they cannot get through human skin. (if we are talking about the same spider)

    humans tend to do alot of things due to lazyness though its common, but in my opinion i think respecting life even of little insects is good. rabbits are actualy very easy to kill, i have killed plenty before for food. they dont suffer if you brake there necks its over very fast. or you can always just cut the head right off with a good hunting knife.

    i think it comes down to how cute the animal is alot of the time, also we care for mammals more than other animals, or creatures with human-like eyes. alot of western people dont like the idea of killing little cats and dogs, but in china they have no problem with it.

    many people over here in the west wouldent actualy kill a lamb for food, but they have no problem eating the meat when its in the supermarket. its because we are pussies nowdays who cant deal with the moral issue face to face. i have killed hundreds of animals for food. you get used to it after a short time.

    i think if you are willing to eat meat, you should also be willing to kill that animal yourself. im not saying farming is wrong or anything like that. but im saying atleast be able to go through with killing animals at some point in your life if your going to eat them. or its kind of cowardly, when you take a life of any sort it makes you respect living things. i know it might sound strange but its true. when you see an animal die by your hands it makes you realise what life is worth. the animal was running around living life and then you kill it, now its life has been taken away and it lays there lifeless infront of you.

    i think people would respect living things more if they had to kill things that they think are cute. then it makes you think "hey even though spiders are not cute, they are still living things like that cute little rabbit, maybe i shouldent kill it for no reason".

    it sounds funny though i admit, when you kill animals you like, it makes you not want to kill animals without need.


    peace.
     
  20. Enmos Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    43,184
    Moral obligation yes.. to all life. But you don't have to help them just leave them alone.. do not hurt or kill them for fun. That's all I'm saying.

    I don't know but it would definitely not be humans.

    You seem to be avoiding the question about if it would be a moral lesson, which was the whole point of my question.

    You keep misrepresenting my viewpoints. Have you even read the whole thread ?
     
  21. Enmos Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    43,184
    Next time use a glass to put it outside. Daddy long legs are harmless.
    I shouldn't matter how hard it is to kill an animal or how much or little it suffers when you kill it. It's wrong to just kill an animal purely for the fun of it, suffering or not. To say it's right to kill an ugly animal is ridiculous, cuteness should not play any role in your respect for life.
     
  22. maxg Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    710
    Since you don't seem to understand the response, here's the short answer: no, it would not be a moral lesson. I don't want her to fart loudly in public and yell "hey, I cut the cheese!" but it isn't immoral to do so. It's a lesson in character and proper behavior.
     
  23. maxg Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    710
    Do you believe then that you have a moral obligation to help your fellow humans that extends beyond "leaving them alone." Do you believe people should be allowed to starve if they can't fend for themselves?
     

Share This Page