Topics Ethics

Question Is it wrong to do a good deed in order to alleviate your unease about a different bad deed? I support making animal slaughter more humane. But perhaps this is inconsistent of me, because (as a vegetarian) I still think it's wrong to slaughter an animal humanely -- and if animals had to be slaughtered cruelly, maybe people would confront the problem and the practice of slaughtering would end.

Accepted:
November 3, 2008

Comments

I don't see any inconsistency here. Even if one believes that it is wrong to slaughter animals humanely, one might also believe that to slaughter them inhumanely is to commit a far greater and more serious wrong. So, if you believe that people are not going to stop slaughtering animals any time soon, then it seems perfectly reasonable for you to support making animal slaughter more humane.

The last point you raise does complicate matters a bit. If it were true that animals had to be slaughtered inhumanely and that confronting the problem of inhumane slaughtering would lead people to oppose the practice of slaughtering altogether, then that might be a reason for you not to support the practice of humane slaughtering. But I don't think it is the case that animals have to be slaughtered cruelly, and your opposition to even humane slaughtering will not make it the case.