Ethics Quiz 1- Michael Martin

Moral Vegetarianism

the perspective that one should not eat certain edible animals & perhaps animal products

Vegetarians v.s Vegans

• Vegetarians believe eating animal products (milk & cheese) are permissable, not morally wrong

  💡strict vegetarian would argue that because it's morally wrong to kill a human for food, then it's just as morally wrong to kill an animal for food

• Vegans believe eating both animals & animal products is morally forbidden

Prima Facie Duty

• a duty that can be overriden by a more pressing obligation

  • EX: you’re marooned/strayed on a desert island inhabited by edible birds & there are no plants

    -nonvegetarians would consume for survival, that their lives are more valuable than the bird’s

    -moral vegetarians would question the decision

  • speciesm: allowing the consumption of animals but not humans in the aspect of survival

  • moderate positioned Vegetarian may argue that it is “prima facie wrong” to kill animal for food BUT that the human right to preserve their life can override the duty to not kill animals

💡Michael Martin beleives that moral vegetarianism = prima facie duty ...not an absolute one to not eat meat if it is to have any credibility

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