Monday, May 07, 2007
Metamorphoses
The 5 lines I picked come, obviously, from Pythagoras in Chapter 15.
Although the gods were in the distant skies,
Pythagoras drew near them with his mind;
what nature had denied to human sight,
he saw with intellect, his mental eye.
..
"O mortals, don't contaminate your bodies"
Persephone's pomegranate seed doesn't clearly articulate the issues about food for a mortal from a mortals perspective. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid argues Pythagoras' view of not eating meat as a thing humans don't see. Amidst all of the struggles humans undergo, the ethics of veganism are expectations too great for humans. How can one be concerned with the soothing and relaxing nature of a bath if they are in a river and expected constantly to tread water least they drown? Well Pythagoras saw through the distractions of a human life to a system of eating much like the gods in which the suffering of others was not required. That Buddha did this almost 2,000 years before and Pythagoras probably studied a little bit about the religion shows that things which are important enough will come around again. I particularly liked the argument for humans not to "devour your own laborers". If you eat an ox, it can no longer plow your fields as a friend.
"Those who need to feed on bloody food are savage beasts: Fierce lions, wolves, and bears, Armenian tigers." The disassociation which, with the dawn of agriculturalism, has distanced humans from all other animals through some asinine sense of superiority, dominion through destiny, is reversed in this argument. Ovid says Pythagoras' views humans who eat as not only equal to animals but equal to the carnivores, traditionally the dirtiest and most offensive of animals. Carnivores eat flesh so I think the connection is justifiable. I've lived with someone who I could only describe as a Hyena. Without overtly saying so, the connection between the blood of humans and non-humans is so strong towards the end of the Pythagoras passage that it creates a sense of cannibalism as the result of eating the flesh of other beings, an incredible taboo throughout most of the world. The passage ends "those souls are kin to your own souls; don't feed your blood upon another's blood." This sense of kinship is alluded to throughout the section and only in the last sentence is it mentioned aloud and therefor it is the last thought remaining to the audience. A very tactful use of persuasion. Good job Ovid!
Reading List with Amazon links
The 5 lines I picked come, obviously, from Pythagoras in Chapter 15.
Although the gods were in the distant skies,
Pythagoras drew near them with his mind;
what nature had denied to human sight,
he saw with intellect, his mental eye.
..
"O mortals, don't contaminate your bodies"
Persephone's pomegranate seed doesn't clearly articulate the issues about food for a mortal from a mortals perspective. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid argues Pythagoras' view of not eating meat as a thing humans don't see. Amidst all of the struggles humans undergo, the ethics of veganism are expectations too great for humans. How can one be concerned with the soothing and relaxing nature of a bath if they are in a river and expected constantly to tread water least they drown? Well Pythagoras saw through the distractions of a human life to a system of eating much like the gods in which the suffering of others was not required. That Buddha did this almost 2,000 years before and Pythagoras probably studied a little bit about the religion shows that things which are important enough will come around again. I particularly liked the argument for humans not to "devour your own laborers". If you eat an ox, it can no longer plow your fields as a friend.
"Those who need to feed on bloody food are savage beasts: Fierce lions, wolves, and bears, Armenian tigers." The disassociation which, with the dawn of agriculturalism, has distanced humans from all other animals through some asinine sense of superiority, dominion through destiny, is reversed in this argument. Ovid says Pythagoras' views humans who eat as not only equal to animals but equal to the carnivores, traditionally the dirtiest and most offensive of animals. Carnivores eat flesh so I think the connection is justifiable. I've lived with someone who I could only describe as a Hyena. Without overtly saying so, the connection between the blood of humans and non-humans is so strong towards the end of the Pythagoras passage that it creates a sense of cannibalism as the result of eating the flesh of other beings, an incredible taboo throughout most of the world. The passage ends "those souls are kin to your own souls; don't feed your blood upon another's blood." This sense of kinship is alluded to throughout the section and only in the last sentence is it mentioned aloud and therefor it is the last thought remaining to the audience. A very tactful use of persuasion. Good job Ovid!
Reading List with Amazon links
- Diet For A New America, by John Robbins. You've heard of Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream. Well now you've heard of John Robbins. This book should be read by anyone who eats food in America or is American. 1/3 devoted to the food animal industry, 1/3 to the nutritional impacts of animal food, 1/3 to the environmental impacts our diets. Environmentalists eating meat need to read this book. Anyone concerned with long term health needs to read this book. I xeroxed some pages from this book for my grandfather who promptly threw them out. Later, at his survivors meeting, they gave him a handout consisting of most of the same pages. Some of us can't see through our own bias for the information we need but this is without question one of the greatest sources of health information(the bibliography is phenomenal) that belongs
- Animal Liberation, by Peter Singer. Definitive modern work on the philosophy of animals, their rights, our eating them, hypocrisies in diet and a diet of hypocrisy. Peter Singer is one of the top Philosophers of our time. If you would prefer short essays on a variety of topics, read his book Ethical Life. Ethical Life is my favorite book of essays.
- Vegan, the new ethics of eating, by Erik Markus. A wonderful look for a non-vegan into the world of being vegan. Answers for some more obvious questions which most people might be afraid of asking a vegan. Cogent and honest. Available for free download through the authors website.
- Obligate Carnivore, by Jed Gillen. This book examines what it means to be vegan with respect to cats and dogs. Am I still a vegan if I feed my cat non-vegan cat food? Is a dog that eats vegan any healthier than a dog who doesn't? Am I responsible as a vegan for the diet of my pet or, as a pet, is my pet exempt from my vegan lifestyle? Stimulating information for a good debate. Read this book. It's short too.
- Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. This book examines the science and economics of food in America which is now so far removed from nature you will frighten YOURSELF into going organic and preparing your own food at home. Luckily, organic produce and other organic foods are easily purchased at local grocery stores and cooking is easy. If you ever have any cooking questions about anything, please ask me. Now a major motion picture you can rent. The movie misses several major areas of the book but does an incredible job covering the rest of the material. The movie is literally pregnant with major stars in every scene and the material from the book they cover is performed with such incredible skill you will be as amazed by the story as you are by the issues it covers.
# posted by Mick @ 7:50 PM 
