Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The Bobster]

Food is a delightful aspect of human existence and limiting one�s choices for any reason other than personal preference regarding what tastes good results or what is unhealthy is an unnecessary detriment that places limits of the scope of the enjoyment that life offers. The pleasures awarded by the physical senses are among the chief rewards and compensations of living in a world that contains stress and hardship and pain. Therefore, if someone doesn�t like the taste of meat, vegetarianism is a viable option, and a logical one..

Many religious traditions encourage or require a vegetarian diet, and they cite many and various reasons, but it�s not hard to argue that especially in the case of asceticism that narrowing or delimiting the scope of sensory stimulus is the very goal � in fact, far more religions encourage either fasting of one sort or another or place restrictions on food in some way than do not. For many of these there is a distrust of the physical world, and a connection is made between sin, on the one hand (�pleasures of the flesh,� to be avoided) and righteousness, on the other (i.e., the �spiritual enlightenment� that comes of following a comprehensive and unyielding discipline with a firm resolve). Without the goal of following a spiritual path, however, reasons for vegetarianism become problematical.

We not only enjoy our time in the world by means of our physical senses (and discernment to be gathered from the flavors of food we eat is just one aspect) but we also experience the world this way � i.e., we gain knowledge about the universe we inhabit � and making a decision to avoid certain foods that have not yet become part of our personal knowledge also represents a perverse desire to pursue ignorance as a goal.

In the absence of other reasons, is it logical or psychologically healthy to avoid pleasure? No. Is it useful and beneficial to avoid experiences that give more knowledge about the world? No.

In fact, it�s a bad choice.

________

Boilerplate disclaimer: The Bobster in no way wants to dissuade anyone from a life of legumes and soy products. There are many ways to be happy. I�m submitting these propositions only tangentially as expression of personal opinion, but rather more as discussion fodder. Food for thought, if you get my drift.

[The Perfect Cup of Coffee]

Damn, this is a heavy topic for an early Sunday morning. My bad, I should've had a coffee by now. I'm more of a personal choice kind of guy when it comes to vegetarians. As long as it isn't pushed on me, I don't really care what they do. I actually respect strict vegetarians who refuse anything that comes from an animal like meat, milk or oils. That's dedication.

Time for a burger!

[littlelisa]

You're assuming that a diet with meat gives all of us pleasure! I don't like the taste or the smell, therefore I found a diet with meat LIMITED my pleasure.

I debated between choices two and three and finally picked two. But I feel either one works.

[Rteacher]

Inspired by "JongnoGuru's" post on a related thread, I think "The OP is behaving like an asshat" should be included as another option (listed just above "incarceration or worse" ... )

Actually, I think the threads he's started on this general topic have helped liven up the off-topic forum, which has been kinda dull lately ...

[blurgalurgalurga]

I find this argument quite compelling, and intend to use it for other debates as well.

[littlelisa]

[The Bobster]

[littlelisa]

[Darashii]

*wonders why this guy gets such a hard on over the holiness of meat*

Your poll - while obviously tongue-in-cheek - is too biased to be good for anything worthwhile, so I picked 3.

You also (and quite wrongly so) assume that vegetarianism (or any diet other than that of "see food") isn't a cultural phenomenon that can be experienced, as if you can't learn or have anything "new" or "interesting" that is comprised of only vegetables (or whathaveyou).

Of course that's sh!t, but you're welcome to wallow in it.

[Boodleheimer]

i've given up meat for Lent. not a biggie, as i was vegetarian for a few years around-about uni.

my boyfriend's giving up meat with me, even though he's not even been baptised. he misses meat. i'm not sure why he's joined me on the fast, but it's kinda sweet.

anyhow, the reason i gave up meat at uni is simply that it takes a whole lot more acres to feed a cow to feed me than to bypass the cow. eating raised meat isn't particularly efficient. yes, i am also an animal lover, and it does bother me when animals are killed, but the prevailing argument for going veggie FOR ME was the wasteful aspects of raising animals for meat.

i stopped being a veggie when i moved to china -- as 'buddhist' as you might think they are, they love adding meat to tofu. (eek!) and being vegetarian in china was ridiculously difficult.

perhaps the answer isn't so much that people should give up meat, but that everyone should eat LESS meat. do you need meat every day? no, of course not.

[The Bobster]

littlelisa:

[Darashii]

[littlelisa]

So if you really want to follow the math formula...

It's possible for Y to be a negative number (as in my case). It's also possible for it to be a relatively very small number, small enough to be negligible. So there doesn't have to necessarily be some special thing C.

There are some people who pretty much barely eat anything more than Y also. Say, carnivores, practically, rather than omnivores. So it's not just X + Y= simple math.

And then you have the fact that most of us aren't explicable by simple math only.

Most people have a limited range of things/tastes that they like. So say you don't like spicy things and I don't like things with meat in them. Is one really more limiting than the other? Why is meat so magically special?

[The Bobster]

[Darashii]