Are you anthropocentric or biocentric?

[Matt Emery]

Anthropocentric: regard humans as the central element of the universe.
Biocentric: believe that all forms of life are equally valuable and humanity is not the centre of existence.

[Phanatic]

Every other creature has just as much right to be here as I do. But if I'm hungry, I'm going to eat it, because that's the law of the jungle

[Doug]

I am certainly anthropocentric.   If it were otherwise, then our laws regarding murder of other human beings would be a mere preference and not moral imperative.  While our place in the universe may be physically not the centerpiece, we are still the only planet with known life.  And on this planet we are at the top of the food chain.   If you believe man is merely another form of animal then this leads to biocentricity. 

[Tony Bondioli]

Biocentric, here!

Our laws regarding the murder of other humans is a preference around which sociocultural mores have formed.  It's part of the "social contract," developed by tribal primates (humans) who realized that it was to their benefit to do so ("You don't kill me or mine; I won't kill you or yours.").  Sadly, we haven't quite got the hang of it yet, which is why we still have everything from individual murder, to continuous, full-scale war.

[SidheDraoi]

Biocentric here, Its cliche but I follow the "Fight Club" philosophy that we are made up of the same (decaying) organic matter as everything else.  haha i'm a little less morbid about it but essentially thats how I view it. All are One.

[Tony Bondioli]

All are One.

Yup.  Body and spirit (it's all energy)... we're all parts of the same "One-ness."  

[Darthash]

Biocentric here as well, everything on earth and in the universe are there for a reason, we compliment each other. for instance we need bees to polinate the flower, to do another thing to another thing, it's all a cycle


Ash

[MrWinchell]

Biocentric - Life is Life - No form worth more than another. In the end we are all just dirt.

I do not kill anything unless I intend to eat it or it imposes an immediate threat to the life of myself or my lovedones. This goes for all animals including the human animal. As far as cold blooded murder goes I consider killing any life just for the sake of killing it murder.

[SidheDraoi]

Biocentric - Life is Life - No form worth more than another. In the end we are all just dirt.

I do not kill anything unless I intend to eat it or it imposes an immediate threat to the life of myself or my lovedones. This goes for all animals including the human animal. As far as cold blooded murder goes I consider killing any life just for the sake of killing it murder.

Try telling that to my sister! Her and her hatred for bugs is unbelieveable.... I completely agree with you however, if I see someone smash a fly I look at them and ask "are you going to eat that?" and then give them my spiel about how how they shouldnt waste another creatures life just because its annoying you and they should have more respect.

[Doug]

I think it is good to be humane to animals. I also think experiments on animals for the advancement of medicine is a good thing.  If find it interesting that despite being biocentric, when faced with a benefit most people here are saying they will engage in killing to eat or for comfort.   We are obviously making a decision that or life is worth more than the other form of life when we kill or eat. 

Even though I am in a minority here, it seems to me that the decisions the biocentric people here have not become vegetarians.  I think vegetarianism is a logical conclusion of biocentricity.  Am I wrong?

[SidheDraoi]

 We are obviously making a decision that or life is worth more than the other form of life when we kill or eat. 

when it comes down to killing for food I think most people here are justified in that sense.  The point of being apart of everything means that we are all apart of the same cycle of life, which if you've ever watched Lion King Mofasa explains it quite well. Killing and eating animals has little to nothing to do with us being a dominant species. In my personal opinion I think its wrong to kill animals for anything other than food, acientific experiments on animals I believe (though beneficial) are very painful to the animal, its a form of torture. I don't see anything being beneficial about Vivisection... Nothing can be learned from it that is worth that animals pain and suffering... and then to be thrown in the garbage like a piece of trash is disgraceful... they deserve more respect than that.

[MrWinchell]

Humans are omnivorous by nature and our body's have evolved accordingly. I would argue that the vegetarian is the person who thinks they are above all other animals even there own species. After all they are denying there own animal nature. When a lion kills and consumes a gazelle do you condime it? No. You accept that it is the animals nature. When a man hunts down and kills a gazelle for consumption it is often construed as murder for sport. I myself struggled the first time I killed a fish for food. When I looked it in the eyes I felt bad about the fact that I was going to take its life. It was at this time I realized that I was doing the same thing the fish had done everyday of his life. Killing a smaller weaker animal to feed the self. I also found myself feeling guilty for never looking my food in the eyes before. I had eaten many animals in my life but never an animal I had killed myself. This made me feel like I had not honored the sacrifice the animals had made to give life. The sad thing about meat consumption in today's society is most people never get the chance to look there food in the eyes. By separating ourselves from killing the live animal we have lost respect for the dead animal and forgotten that we are an animal.

[SidheDraoi]

Humans are omnivorous by nature and our body's have evolved accordingly. I would argue that the vegetarian is the person who thinks they are above all other animals even there own species. After all they are denying there own animal nature. When a lion kills and consumes a gazelle do you condime it? No. You accept that it is the animals nature. When a man hunts down and kills a gazelle for consumption it is often construed as murder for sport. I myself struggled the first time I killed a fish for food. When I looked it in the eyes I felt bad about the fact that I was going to take its life. It was at this time I realized that I was doing the same thing the fish had done everyday of his life. Killing a smaller weaker animal to feed the self. I also found myself feeling guilty for never looking my food in the eyes before. I had eaten many animals in my life but never an animal I had killed myself. This made me feel like I had not honored the sacrifice the animals had made to give life. The sad thing about meat consumption in today's society is most people never get the chance to look there food in the eyes. By separating ourselves from killing the live animal we have lost respect for the dead animal and forgotten that we are an animal.

you always bring such wisdom to the forum!

I lived with vegetarians for 2 years and within that 2 years i discovered just how far their ego ran. I was the only person out of 5 that was a meat eater, whenever we'd go out for dinner or make dinner at home they would constantly battle me over eating meat. They felt that if I saw pictures of slaughter houses then I would stop eating meat... very wrong they were. The videos and pictures of the animals in a slaughter house only made me hate mass production of meat products, not the act of killing the animal.  So I adopted a hunter mindset, you dont kill what you are not willing to eat.

we as a race have lost our natural insticts... we are favoring technology to make our lives easier, the teenagers and children today know nothing of hard work (this is from experience.. I have only been out of school for 4 years, I know what the kids there are like). We live in a silver platter society where no one seems to have any respect for anything other than theirselves. We act as though we are spoiled princesses. Ask a girl with a manicure to take up a shovel and move some mulch... she will fight until she gets her way (atleast this is the case with my sister) and she will think she is above doing that kind of work... It makes me wonder what would happen if she lived with one of the tribes that their only means of survival is getting down in the dirt and working hard.... would she even make it past the first week?

[Doug]

I voted I was anthropocentric. This is not quite accurate.  I view the universe as being created.  My focus is not on the created universe, but rather the creator.  I think there is a spiritual side to this site in as much as the there is an endeavor to feed our bodies their original fuel, the idea is that food technology has not advanced us as caused our health to deteriorate. There are all kinds of ills associated with poor diet which affects not only our bodies,but our minds as well. 

The earth is a resource, but it is a means to an end. Some say the universe has a mind, but where some see a universal mind, I see a sign for something greater.

[Alex Good]

Every other creature has just as much right to be here as I do. But if I'm hungry, I'm going to eat it, because that's the law of the jungle

 I agree.

[Danimal]

Biocentric for me ..... only us humans could ever believe we're the center of anything 

Dan.

[Alex Good]

Biocentric for me ..... only us humans could ever believe we're the center of anything 

Dan.

 But I'm clearly the center of myself. Who else would be?

[SidheDraoi]

Biocentric for me ..... only us humans could ever believe we're the center of anything 

Dan.

 But I'm clearly the center of myself. Who else would be?

anthropocentric-- center element of the universe, not ourselves    so you can still be the center of yourself, just not the center of the universe (if you are biocentric)

[xclusiv8]

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. - Albert Einstein.

I picked biocentric. I believe we are nothing more than animals that have evolved to be the king of the food chain. As someone mentioned earlier its the way of the jungle.

[globetrekker]

Coincidentally I'm reading Ishmael right now...

[Qommon]

Biocentric. I would kill what I need to eat, and I would never begrudge something eatting me (although I would fight tooth and nail and sharp pointy stick to prevent that from happening, once it's done there's no hard feelings.)

[zenrn]

All are One.

Yup.  Body and spirit (it's all energy)... we're all parts of the same "One-ness."  

I agree!, good topic.