tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361358365193630538.post7101585216458650874..comments2024-03-20T19:17:02.285-07:00Comments on IN THE NEWS: Good tidings: Violence at all-time lowKaren Franklin, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01032855743077403199noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361358365193630538.post-29526126983152912142011-12-05T01:07:15.399-08:002011-12-05T01:07:15.399-08:00Pinker's book is indeed good news - at least f...Pinker's book is indeed good news - at least for some species: unfortunately, violence towards nonhumans continues to grow at unprecedented rate: literally billions of nonhumans are killed every year to pander to human non-essential caprices like meat/dairy/egg consumption (v.American Dietetic Association); fur/leather/feather wearing; product testing and, yes, still today, entertainment, like the burnt cat: hunting, bullfighting, rodeos, horseracing, shows and breeding. In the "bad old days" there were voices lifted against torture (Montaigne's, for instance. He also spoke against killing animals: a combination found more often than many would like to admit), these days, there are, fortunately, thousands of voices lifted against violence towards humans and nonhumans alike: I can only hope the day will come when humans recognise that in their treatment of nonhumans today they resemble only too closely the kings, queens and commoners who flocked to the spectacle of massacre. How to hasten the removal of the rose-coloured spectacles of human behaviour to others ("I enjoy watching/eating/wearing it so it must be good") to bring on the growth of empathy in the equation? We'll hope Pinker has the answer. <br /><br />(My own theory, for what it's worth, of why people enjoyed - and still, in various ways enjoy - the spectacle of torture, inflicting it and so forth is precisely because it's happening to someone else: every blow is one that one has avoided oneself: it removes the ever-present threat of harm: "While it's happening to them, it's not happening to me" the sensation of relief is pleasurable. Isn't laughter intimately associated with relief?)Cavall de Querhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17687910584661433398noreply@blogger.com