Poll: Would you kick a puppy?

[Falconsgyre]

I think the curve starts changing when you start bringing in real money into the equation. 100; 1,000; 1,000,000...But it's these hamfisted hypotheticals that really ruin any serious conversation on ethics. Utilitarianism is such rubbish. Granted, you didn't invoke that in your answers, but that's what these hypotheticals aim to boil down to, no? At what point does your good outweigh another's good?
Well, there is no actual point to get at. The tension is always in flux, it's alive.
Anyway, if the poster, or anyone, has any real interest in the subject, get yourself to some Nietzsche, and then some Levinas...and chase that with some Bataille.

I have a feeling a technical discussion of ethics is not what most people came here for. Anyway, none of these answers commit you to any specific system of ethics, except perhaps the second option, which is fairly utilitarian in concept. If I were a Rawlsian, and thought that only rational beings could enter into the kind of contract necessary for morality, I could justify picking the first, third, or seventh option, for example. Though I am personally a utilitarian, so if you want a serious discussion of ethics, I can show you why utilitarianism isn't rubbish. Or try to, at any rate.

 

[Dana22]

I dont mind eating any animal, if it was bred solely for that purpose. And no, I wouldn't kick neither puppy nor pig.

Interesting. Why should it matter that an animal was bred for that purpose?

Because we are not hunters-gatherers anymore. We produce our food.

 

[Falconsgyre]

I dont mind eating any animal, if it was bred solely for that purpose. And no, I wouldn't kick neither puppy nor pig.

Interesting. Why should it matter that an animal was bred for that purpose?

Because we are not hunters-gatherers anymore. We produce our food.

Sure, but I don't see how that's relevant. Why is killing a wild animal for food more wrong than killing a domesticated animal bred for it, all else being equal?

 

[Dana22]

I dont mind eating any animal, if it was bred solely for that purpose. And no, I wouldn't kick neither puppy nor pig.

Interesting. Why should it matter that an animal was bred for that purpose?

Because we are not hunters-gatherers anymore. We produce our food.

Sure, but I don't see how that's relevant. Why is killing a wild animal for food more wrong than killing a domesticated animal bred for it, all else being equal?

I never said its wrong. I said I wouldn't do that.

 

[Jadak]

"No. It's not okay to hurt animals for such a trivial reason."

The topic is about puppies, this option should say puppies. If this said puppies, this is what I would pick.

 

[TStormer]

I'd kick it even without the $5 (useless in the UK anyway)

 

[AlexNora]

I'd eat that puppy especially if I was hungry.

 

[Brandon237]

Hell no, and I would kick anyone who did kick the puppy, very hard. In the face. With boots on.
Animals feel pain too, and they are not as stupid as many people think they are, o kick it for $15 would just be insane and cruel.

 

[Harveypot]

Of course I would, because it's really a ZOMBIE PUPPY AND IT WANTS TO EAT YOUR BRAINS AND IT'S SITTING RIGHT BEHIND YOU BUT DON'T TURN AROUND BECAUSE THAT WOULD REALLY PISS IT OFF.

But no, I wouldn't kick a non-zombie puppy.

As I read that my dog was right behind me...

And no I wouldn't. Not for £15 or whatever the equivalant of $15 is.

 

[AlexNora]

Hell no, and I would kick anyone who did kick the puppy, very hard. In the face. With boots on.
Animals feel pain too, and they are not as stupid as many people think they are, o kick it for $15 would just be insane and cruel.

hypocrite

you say they feel pain but then you would turn around kick a person that also feels pain

animals are nothing any human is far more beautiful than a stupid dog

and that person that would kick the dog would not be insane or cruel he'd be 15 dollars richer and possible have a small meal.

Social link go!

 

[StormShaun]

Whats the point, if it was a killer puppy trying to kill me I would HAVE to kill it, but if it is doing nothing wrong, why the **** would you kick it!

 

[Manwat]

Yeah. Nothing permanent but it'd leave a green welt for a while. I'd do the same to a person. It's a dog, get over it.

 

[Grayjack]

No way man. I love dogs.

 

[Brandon237]

Hell no, and I would kick anyone who did kick the puppy, very hard. In the face. With boots on.
Animals feel pain too, and they are not as stupid as many people think they are, o kick it for $15 would just be insane and cruel.

hypocrite

you say they feel pain but then you would turn around kick a person that also feels pain

animals are nothing any human is far more beautiful than a stupid dog

and that person that would kick the dog would not be insane or cruel he'd be 15 dollars richer and possible have a small meal.

Social link go!

You know why I would kick the person?
Because they should understand that what they did was wrong and greedy. They have potentially ruined this puppy's life with serious injury (that can be up to 15 years of suffering, and for a dog that is always loyal to a good owner, and lives to enjoy life and run full speed ahead all the time, a crippling injury is as bad as it gets) for $15 F---ing dollars?

The person was a greedy bastard and deserves to get the kick in return, the puppy does not know greed, evil, right or wrong. Animals son't understand these concepts, we do. But that does not make them stupid, it does make them unable to feel pain, unable to suffer or understand that it is getting hurt by the one who kicked it.

So just because you have an advantage in size and intelligence you should injure and take advantage of this puppy to get, of all things, richer?

Humans are always more beautiful than stupid dogs?
Humans can be cruel, evil, greedy and many more. Animals are pure, they do not understand, or need to understand these things, and to injure one for such a trivial reason just goes to show that you are, at the very least, greedy and slightly uncaring.
How people treat animals is a good indicator of how they would treat other people if they had such an advantage over them, it shows how caring you are to those lower in the pecking order than yourself. And from this I can say that I am glad you have no power over me.

 

[Brandon237]

Nope, but I'd kick the person who asked me in the head for free, then take the puppy into my custody...

I like this answer, very much.
People who think that cruelty and greed are just fine deserve this. Especially cruelty and greed towards animals that won't understand what is happening, that haven't done anything wrong.

 

[EllEzDee]

it's just an animal

It's amazing that we still live in such times as these.
Also, $5 is fuck all; it equates to £2.70-ish, which would buy you a 2 pints of cravendale milk and perhaps some cheap biscuits.
Now then, taking the life of someone who'd answer yes to this kind of thing for 5 "dollars"? Sure, it'd be doing the world a favour.

 

[Artina89]

No I would never kick the puppy, especially if it is for such a meagre "reward" as $5. I like dogs. I couldn't abuse something so helpless.

 

[Brandon237]

I can't be mean to a sentient creature for so lowly a prize.

Especially one as wuvvable as that.

Dogs aren't sentient, sentient means to have thought and free will like humans.
OT: Nope.

NO, that is sapient, sentient means that it feels and makes sense of the world around itself. Sapient means it has Intelligent thought and reasoning like humans do. Big difference. Most animals are very much sentient (I only say most because there MIGHT be some that aren't, but I do not know of them).

 

[Yopaz]

This is not the same as eating pigs. Kicking the puppy for 5 dollars, well, that's just mean. It serves no purpose other than getting a little money. It's not enough to make up for anything.
Eating a pig however that serves for getting a tasty meal with plenty of proteins and fat. I would never hurt an animal for such a lame reason on purpose ever.