Why I don't eat meat

In 4th grade I made the decision to become vegetarian, so I've been following this diet for 7 year now. I had a bestfriend at the time who was also vegetarian and she started showing me all these video of how they kill the animals for the food, I use to eat. I started feeling guilty and terrible to eat these animals. I looked more into it, and what I found was honestly just so shocking to me. 

I am the only person in my house who is vegetarian, so it wasn't like I was following in the footsteps of a family member, it was a decision I chose to make myself and  because it corresponds with my beliefs and ideologies and view on the world and on life. We wouldn't kill a person for meat, but why is it okay that in some countries they eat dog, monkey brain or even the simplest such as the leg of a chicken? If human life is so valued, then why are animal lives so devalued?

I to this day stand by my decision of not only being vegetarian but my views which still remain the same, which is that animals should not be killed for food.

Many questions I have been ask through non-vegetarians are:

What about protein?
I still can get my protein through Tofu, broccoli and various other supplements, meat is not the only option.

Is it difficult?
Surprisingly, no it is not, many restaurants have a special logo on the menu and if there is no vegetarian option, servers are more than happy toto solve something for you.

Is anyone else in your family vegetarian?
No, but they understand my choice and respect it.

Do you miss meat?
I do not but that is because I have no clue of what it tastes like and at first it may be hard but soon after you get used to it very quickly.

TOK

In class we talked and discussed animal rights and some knowledge questions Mr Thomas presented to us. 

To what extent do animals have rights?

This question caused quite a bit of spark with the class but personally, I think animals don't have enough rights. First, there are multiple slaughterhouses, shelters for badly treated animals and this is all because of the cause of humans. However, we do have many laws to protect the animals, such as the types of domestic animals one can own, the volunteer vets that work with the endangered species. However, I do think this is only because humans feel responsible for the killings. We are the cause of the global climate change that's killed hundreds of Polar Bears in Antarctica, or the ones that hunt them for their skin and fur to make furniture and clothes. We humans think of our need primary and as these animals have no way of communicating with us when is it that we really know we are doing our best to give the animals the rights they need.  

How should we determine the proper treatment of animals?

This question n a way is similar to the above one, because there are so many sides and ways of looking at it (which is what a knowledge question is to allow us to do). However, this differs because it talks about a certain criteria. The other day in class we look at the Human Index, and discussed how do we come up with this criteria. However we base it of the needs of the animals, the way they live, the supplies, sources and protection they get. In determining this I feel like we would only know we had done an accurate way of testing our hypothesis if we see a population growth or decrease in a certain species in a controlled environment, however using different variable to test this.

How should we determine our obligations to animals?

This seems to be one of the harder questions to give one response to because every animal has different needs. However I think we would have to determine our obligations to them based on their way of living and how their species wants and needs to grow. We need to ensure that whatever we do to the animals it must not be harmful and must correspond to their natural way of being and behaving. Lastly, we need to keep in consideration that we must keep them secure and avoid them from getting extinct.

How should we determine which animals we take into consideration?

We ourselves are animals, therefore we primarily need to focus on the animals that balance our ecosystem such as bees or shard, because if not we as a species can go extinct. However the same way we take care of the main life suppliers, we need to take care of all animals and I believe we should not rank them rather each animals should have the care provided with the one they need.

What ethical issues are involved in eating meat?

I wrote about this TOK Knowledge question in my rgument to why I'm vegetarian.

Repressed memory Syndrome

Repressed memory Syndrome

She talks about how you can implant false memories in people's mind. This means they can replicate or imagine the situation which was implanted. Loftus, a psychologist who studies false memory drew and made many experiments to study why people misremember information. She began her study after Titarus' case- which was a man who was wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't do, and he went so psychologically crazy he began to believe all the information they had told him. She said there was a test in which they implanted traumatic memories and seeing if they would believe or act upon it. Soon after, most could recall the event and some people even had triggers in their mind. For example she implanted the memory that a person got sick eating a certain food as a child, and now in their adulthood they were starting to turn away from the food or lose their urge to eat it. However, there are ethical issues that come with implanting memories, such as if we should stop or if it's okay to put people under such circumstances. Nonetheless researchers do it because the information they gain out is more valuable than the persons memories at time.

The main point of the video was trying to say that memory is not necessarily reliable. For example psychologist can use false information, and others methods to influence the situations you remember.

TOK + Update - In my previous posts I talked a lot about Emotions and whether they are a trustable sources of knowing something. However now we look at another aspect of the different ways of knowing memory. In this post I explained an example of how memories can be falsified and how they might not be a reliable way of knowing. So why do we consider memory a way of knowing as it can be quite inaccurate? I think this is because memories, whether they happened to us or not can just show how powerful these aspects are in the way we perceive different things that haooened to us in life and how they can affect us. However, although this does change our perception, personally, I would not put memory as a way of knowing as it really does not fit the well rounded criteria for knowing something. Emotions for example are uncontrollable and they are a natural response, they can't be accurate. However as seen in this article memory does not always tell us what happened. Also, I remember in class we talked about the example of the witness' in a crime.Everyone at the location will remember something differently or even wrongfully, as they will make assumptions about what they saw and implant memory. 

Intelligence

Post prompt: To what extent should emotions be considered in our understanding of intelligence?

Emotional intelligence has many different definitions, and therefore makes it hard to truly define the word and whether it can be classified as something that makes up or contributes to emotions.  In the blog post previously written, I mentioned the problems in finding a definition and why this can affect the way we perceive different thing. However, the same thing applies here, how can we really decide upon a definition or a way to classify things and to what extent can we really decided whether what we believe is true. Nonetheless, this assumption is not enough to say that what we know is false. Therefore, I believe emotions can in one way emotions should be considered part of intelligence, however with the same concept as previously mentioned I also think we should keep into consideration the other side- emotions are not part of intelligence.

I believe that emotions could be considered an intelligence for multiple reasons. First of all, some dictionary definitions do support the claim. From my previous post you will be able to see an example of the definition. In addition, I believe we have emotions that we can't control and that can't really be explained otherwise. Sometimes emotions burst due to an expirence or to a moment in our lives, however, we don't or can barely control when they come or how they make us feel. Therefore they can only be supported through considering this as intelligence. Relating this further into TOK, in the beginning of the year we studied the ways of knowing and one of them was emotions. Therefore this could suggest that since we classify emotions as a way of knowing it must be unbiased, and it must be something that can not be adapted or changed, and therefore emotions should be classified as intelligence.

On the other hand, I do not think it should be classified as an intelligence. First of all, just like my counterclaim this also has definitions to support itself. Again, this can be read more in depth about in my previous blog. Also, emotions are a response and a reaction to a certain situation therefore it is not an intelligence as it is a human response. Emotions, are uncontrollable and came as a natural response. However intelligence and grow and can adapt based on what we learn and what we experience. So , intelligence is about learning and understanding. One one hand you do learn as you respond to situations through emotions, however the reactions you have are a natural responce, and you can't teach it to yourself. Also, questioning the claim I made previously about Emotions being a way of knowing, and if looking at it from this perspective would challenge this idea. Can we really claim to know something based on our feelings or way of being? If emotions are not part of intelligence, can they really be an accurate source for knowing something?

Can emotions be classified as intelligence?

Can emotions be classified as intelligence?

Citations

In class we focused on definitions and trying to find the one we believe to be most accurate. Therefore in this post I have decided on what I believe are two different definitions on the same word. This is an extremley interesting idea as it challenge our knowledge on topics we think we know so well. If a definition is not clear enough or can be interpreted in so many ways is there really ever one answer. It makes us think about the complexity of different aspects, even the most simple things which are definitions. It makes us question what we already know and makes us look at different sides of things.

So how do we know and decide upon a definition? Definitions are very hard to put together because they have to refer from being biased. They have to show a whole round picture and therefore the word choice is always to be decided upon with extreme caution. 

So relating this back to TOK how can we tell if something is unbiased, and if it is how do we know which is the correct version, how can we justify what we know or what we say to believe? The overarching TOK question: How do we know what we know? Again, this concept applies to the definitions how do we really know what something means, how do we know we have included the most important characteristic of a word in one sentence. How can we classify all the information we know to be accurate if the main concept we are talking about might not even have the correct definition. Therefore this post is an example of these problems as I found two contradicting definitions for the same words or for the same ideas.

No, emotion can't be classified as an intelligence: 😶😶😶😶😶

“. . . a quality that is intellectual and not emotional or moral: in measuring it we try to rule out the effects of the child’s zeal, interest, industry, and the like. Secondly, it denotes a general capacity, a capacity that enters into everything the child says or does or thinks; any want of ’intelligence’ will therefore be revealed to some degree in almost all that he attempts;” C. L. Burt [8]

Yes, emotion can be classified as an intelligence: 😊😭😤😍😱

 “Capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.” Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2006

Post-Purchase Rationalization

Post-Purchase Rationalization

What is it?

Post Purchase Realization is when one makes a decision to buy something but then after regrets it and tries to justify what they just did. It is in some way a period of second- guessing.

How do people try to justify it?

They try and look at the alternatives with cognitive bias and then they focus on the weakness of the alternative and the strength of the product they chose?

Where does it drive from?

Some researchers say it derives from "commitment, our psychological desire to stay consistent and avoid a state of cognitive dissonance" (io9)

To what extent does one feel PPR?

it depends on the purchase one has made - cost, importance and difficulty to make that decision

Tok Connection?

In class we discussed cognitive Bias and the idea of memory. I would argue that Post - Purchase realization may connect to the same two idea. First as already discussed cognitive bias is one of the reasons people justify their wrongful purchases. This is because they don't look at the negative aspect as they know it could make them feel guilty or make them worry about what they have just bought. However I also think this can relate to memory as one may try to think back of why they wanted this item, in which occasion in their past or future can they use what they have just purchased. This memory may relate also to cognitive bias as they would only think of the positive aspects, rather than looking at both sides. 

Personal Connection:
I definitively have had Post - Purchase Realization. I sometimes buy things and then realize I might have spent too much money on a certain item and regret it. However then I start trying to justify what I just bought and I think of all the times I could and will use it. It is also interesting now that I look back upon these purchases and actually study cognitive bias, as at the time I don't think of myself as being one sided or biased because I'm so focused on convincing myself of something.

Further Questions:
This idea of cognitive bias does lead me to thinking differently of many things. How do we really know what we know? What is all our knowledge and ideas are of use trying to convince our self of evidence or ideas. We said historians write history, however to what extent can this be justified. With the idea of bias, people can adapt and interpret information to fit their thought and their needs therefore is there really a way to decide on one aspect or on one idea?

Melish Motors Prompt

Find examples from the Yale situation or the Mellish Motors situation that demonstrate how language, emotion and reason intertwine.

In situations that have happened in the recent years such as the Mellish Motoros situation, we have learned more about how language can affect one. Language is an extremely powerful way of communication and therefore the things you say can affect one emotionally. These emotions will usually trigger a way of response, this can be both negative or positive. 

In the Mellish Motors incident we can see how all language, emotion and reason intertwin. Mellish posted various signs that had some extremley sexist remarks on them. However some took the sign in an extreme manner.  His first sign read "Women are like snowflakes, they can't drive". When the sign was posted it was only supposed to be a harmless joke, or so says Mellish. He said that people should just have a small laugh and move on and did not think people would take it so seriously. However people such as Ling, took the language the sign displayed in a whole other direction. She "thinks there should be a common sense line of what's hateful and what's funny". She continued by posting a picture of the sign online to share her thoughts, and the sign sparked up a lot of emotions. People ranged from laughing at the sign to hating the company for posting the sign.Therefore, Mellish's post raised a lot of emotions and each person had their own reasons for what they thought the sign meant. 

In addition, another connection to the Mellish Motors incident was the facebook feud that happened between a couple of people. The first person started by saying he couldn't believe that some "don't see the harm in sexist joke". The next person said there was no harm in the sign, and so various more began to voice their opinions. This example does not have to be to explained to see how the language raised people's emotions and opinions. All this was raised on social media and each person began fighting with others reasoning. 

Although it may be hard to understand how emotion language and reason intertwin, when looking at it as a chain reaction, one can better understand their connection. When language becomes abusive, opinionated or harmful, this can trigger others emotions to eventually respond reasoning their arguments.


TOK + Update
In class we thoroughly discussed the way of knowing - emotions. However there are two more in which we didn't go to indepth on in class which is language and reason. I think that this post does arise in each of these different aspects. First, we have to look at each individually an with a critical view - which is what we do with overarching TOK questions. Emotions, I thoroughly talked about on my blog so I will summarize quickly the main points. We don't know if we classify emotions as intelligence because there is much evidence to support my claim, such as the definitions. Also there is no real or accurate way to test emotions as they are a natural response. Next, we will discuss language. Language is difficult to understand as it can be interpreted in different ways. Maybe one person understands another then what was meant. In addition there are various language barriers. We can't always find out the appropriate information as one might not speak the language. With language we in class looked at the animals and their way of communicating. However, this can be easily challenged as it is the people whom are teaching them the language and it's also the same people that interpret what they are trying to say. Lastly, reason. Reason is the one we least looked at in class. To reason I think connects to what we talked about in class- cognitive bias. It relates to the Post-Purchase Syndrome also mentioned on my blog. Maybe we are so settled on having a certain answer to something we can't look at the other side and we start to justify our results to convince us of what we want to believe or get as a result.
Relating all this information to this post. I would say all these things intertwine as they can and do form a person's opinion or knowledge on a subject. If one believes that this LANGUAGE or poster it offensive (EMOTION) it is because they have REASON to do so. However this is because they convinced themselves and they interpreted the sign in a way that strikes them as rude.

Political Correctness

Before getting into the post I do mention Political correctness (PC). Therefore here is a definition of the word: To be respectful of people's political idea or thoughts.

I rate his signs a 6/10 on a scale of one being not offensive to 10 being extremley offensive...

This is because I do see and respect the fact that he wants to voice his opinions and speak out in the way he feels it is appropriate to do so. However, on the other hand, I do  believe that there is a better way to do so and he should not being posting these types of posts for everyone to see. If this is his opinions, I think he can keep it to himself or post it with maybe some explained intentions. I just do not feel it is right to post such a sign with no explanation provided because to someone who just so happens to pass against the sign they may be easily hurt or offended. 

But apart from my opinion on the signs, the really question i should be answering and discussing is: What connection does this have with TOK?

First we studied emotions and weather they are an intelligence. In this example we see the power of emotions. We see that they do spark a large debate and that they can change based on the person's personality. Some people took the ifn in a humourous manner, however many were deeply offended by the comments made. In addition, I also think this post or sign did raise a lot of questions on what is really acceptable. In TOK we try to question and challenge ideas. This sign raised a lot of questions on what is really acceptable. Even if there is freedom of speech, should we really do so without taking others into consideration? Therefore, I think there is a certain boundary that should not be passed, however this does raise a new knowledge question: To what extent are our social behaviors acceptable?