For those who don’t know him, Sam Harris* is an author on philosophy, religion & atheism, rationality and a lot of other topics, and has quite a large following. In his latest podcast, Sam Harris talks with psychologist Paul Bloom about “the dark side” of human nature. One of the topics under scrutiny this time is vegetarianism/veganism » Read on »
In my previous article for RVGN, I spoke of how there are many people throughout the world who are unable to immediately convert to vegan living. Such people include those living in; mental health facilities, prisons, food deserts*, and extreme climates where few edible plants grow. I have also, there as in nearly all of my works, expounded » Read on »
I’m excited about the amount of work being done to understand why people continue to consume animal products. Instead of lecturing or leafleting, researchers are conducting studies to reveal the underlying motivations of people who eat meat, and then designing optimal strategies for communication… which may of course » Read on »
Robert Johnson is a British ethicist and moral philsopher. He is the author of Rational Morality: A Science Of Right And Wrong and commissioning editor of Ockham Publishing. He kindly agreed to allow me to pester him with misspelled, sophomoric questions. This week, I asked him about the difference between causing and preventing harm. » Read on »
One of the most common criticisms anyone participating in nonviolent direct action on behalf of nonhumans is met with is, “Why don’t you do something about starving children instead?” Or: “Black people are being murdered by police, and THIS is how you spend your time?” Or: “Why are you talking about nonhuman slaves when there » Read on »
As I said in my introduction to the first half of this conversation I think that as a philosophical movement it is important that vegans engage with sensible and respectful criticisms of our position. If our position is a rational one being open to inquiry can only hone and strengthen our arguments. If our conviction that veganism is a useful method » Read on »
One of the principles of ‘reasonableness’ (and indeed good critical enquiry of any kind) is a willingness to accept and consider sensible and respectful criticism of your ideas. Our goal as critical thinkers is to move closer to the truth, and that’s only possible by refining and testing our conclusions about the world. Our goal as » Read on »
Swayze Foster presents the popular ‘Unnatural Vegan’ YouTube channel where her goal is to provide ‘a well rounded intellectually honest view of veganism’. I was excited to chat with another vegan who values reason and evidence. I hoped to gain some insight into what she does, and ask her about her perspective on the wider vegan » Read on »
Robert Johnson is a British ethicist and moral philosopher. He is the author of Rational Morality: A Science Of Right And Wrong and commissioning editor of Ockham Publishing. He has kindly agreed to allow us to pester him with questions relevant to veganism. This time, I asked him how we decide which kinds of things deserve moral consideration. » Read on »
Robert Johnson is a British ethicist and moral philosopher. He is the author of Rational Morality: A Science Of Right And Wrong and commissioning editor of Ockham Publishing. He has kindly agreed to allow us to pester him with questions relevant to veganism. This week, I asked him about the morality of inflicting death upon sentient creatures. » Read on »
Angry Scientist Finds Uneducated Internet Comment and Delivers Badass Response*. With a title like this how could I resist clicking on the link that a friend sent me recently? The aforementioned Internet comment was in fact a Tumblr post that implied that vaccinating children is ‘child endangerment and abuse’ and encouraged the reader to » Read on »
Robert Johnson is a British ethicist and moral philsopher. He is the author of Rational Morality: A Science Of Right And Wrong and commissioning editor of Ockham Publishing. He kindly agreed to allow me to pester him with misspelled, sophomoric questions. This week, I delved clumsily into the origins of morality itself. » Read on »
It’s often assumed that animal rights and environmentalism go hand in hand. However, one major rift between the philosophies arises from the problem of animal suffering in nature. While environmentalists typically wish to leave wilderness alone, animal advocates should support research into whether there are ways to reduce » Read on »
We were impressed by the Baloney isn’t Vegan leaflets that Dave D of Pythagorean Crank produced for Vegan Chicago*. The Baloney isn’t Vegan leaflets are a distilled and veganised version of Carl Sagan’s baloney detection kit*. They explain the scientific method, present some questions that you should contemplate when confronted with a » Read on »
Lynne Kelly is a prolific science writer whose books demonstrate an insatiable curiosity and a rationalist approach to the world. In Skeptics Guide to the Paranormal* Lynne’s passion for the natural world is clear:
Science is awesome – from the atoms to the universe via the human brain, there is so much we still don’t know » Read on »
I’ve been noticing a lot of tattooed vegans recently*. At vegan events and in vegan cafes I’ve seen vegans with tattoos of vegetables, animals and most obviously the word ‘vegan’ emblazoned on their skin. I’m not suggesting that my noticing tattooed vegans proves that there actually are a lot of tattooed vegans, or that the number of vegan » Read on »
The other day I was in a discussion panel after a talk by world renowned primatologist Frans De Waal* in Brussels. I have great respect for De Waal and his work. He has a positive view on humanity, and refuses to be overly afraid of anthropomorphizing when analyzing animal behavior. Moreover, he actively promotes his » Read on »
After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the things we need most in the world. — Philip Pullman*
I was listening to the journalist and author David Aaronovitch talk on the subject of conspiracy theories and I detected an interesting note in a conversation he recounted that took place between himself and a Labour MEP, that ended » Read on »
When President Clinton went (almost) vegan some years ago, my reaction to the news wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as it might have been. Seeing high-profile people (or anyone for that matter) go vegan for health reasons makes me nervous. First, President Clinton referred to his diet as “strict,” which is not an especially enticing word when » Read on »
