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Philosophical question, assuming kt's not a fake news: are those monkeys "evil"? If they revenge is agains siblings of the aggressor or just dogs in general, I

Philosophical question, assuming kt's not a fake news: are those monkeys "evil"? If they revenge is agains siblings of the aggressor or just dogs in general, I would say so. Looks like they are intelligent enough to be evil.

fidesomnes 5y ago
A terror attack on Christmas parade revelers in Wisconsin is what?
volent 5y ago
> evil > profoundly immoral and wicked. I think the concept that animal can be moral / immoral is already a philosophical subject. See the book "Can Animals Be Moral?" for reference. And in order to say that these monkeys are evil, you must first prove that they can be moral.
- tantalor 5y ago
  Which is to say they know right from wrong. I doubt it "Law of the jungle" and all that
- foxfluff 5y ago
  It depends on whether you view evil as something absolute or relative. If evil is absolute, then an animal (or an entire species) can be seen as evil by nature. Another species may be seen as good or neutral by nature even if the animal itself has no sense of right or wrong. It is indeed very philosophical and also up to your beliefs and values.
resoluteteeth 5y ago
If it's evil for primates to kill 250 dogs after one primate infant was killed is it evil for primates to kill 17 million minks because they could get a virus and theoretically spread that to primates?
- GekkePrutser 5y ago
  Take into consideration though that these minks were bred specifically to kill them for their skin. The end outcome was a ban on mink farms which is a pretty positive one for animal rights. I also think the e culling of all those minks was horrible but it's not as black and white as that.
  - 323 5y ago
    That ban was going to happen anyway, but in 2024.
  - Ansil849 5y ago
    > Take into consideration though that these minks were bred specifically to kill them for their skin. Is that not much more 'evil', to breed something specifically to kill it for its skin? If it's not, then why is it not allowed to be done by the same species to itself?
    - adventured 5y ago
      > Is that not much more 'evil', to breed something specifically to kill it for its skin? That depends on what value/s you place on the thing being bred for its coat. Pretty much all cultures around the world are different, subtly or dramatically, on such issues. > If it's not, then why is it not allowed to be done by the same species to itself? The answer to that is: because the humans judge that the minks (and their existence) are not equals in value to the humans, rather, they're considered property, to be disposed of as the owner sees fit. And obviously that aspect (as the owner sees fit) varies by location/culture. Your question - then why is it not allowed to be done by the same species to itself? - starts from the incorrect premise that values are objective, such as whether a mink should or should not be considered property (your premise requires starting from the notion that minks have protected rights and are equal to humans generally). Instead, those values are in fact subjective and will vary depending on which culture you're dealing with.
    - GekkePrutser 5y ago
      Probably yes. I think both are pretty bad. I eat pretty much vegetarian for this reason (not entirely because here in Spain it's impossible to be totally vegetarian especially when you go out for dinner)
hiptobecubic 5y ago
If you're going to go that far, maybe they are just trying to encourage the dogs to self-regulate.
wly_cdgr 5y ago
To me it sounds more like a straw that broke the camel's back moment. They've had enough and they can't take it anymore and are lashing out in a madness of grief and rage
rp1 5y ago
Why are they evil? Or at least more evil than humans? Humans have eradicated wolves almost everywhere due to the danger they pose humans, particularly children. How is this situation different? The monkeys are even targeting the very same species that humans have long targeted.
_jal 5y ago
The problem you have here is that your conception of this requires the potentially-'evil' to be intelligent - your assumption seems to be that these monkeys are smart enough to 'know right from wrong' or some such. But 'evil' is a human concept. I'm not saying some animals aren't capable of having a similar concept, but 'monkey evil' would not be rooted in the human evolution of societies, religious and philosophical traditions, etc. Try this one out: Are humans who kill monkeys for science "evil"? Not to (many) humans. But to monkeys?
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
froderick 5y ago
To begin to answer that you would need to start out by defining what you mean by ‘intelligent’ and ‘evil’, since both are subjective concepts that only exist relative to your perspective.

fidesomnes 5y ago

A terror attack on Christmas parade revelers in Wisconsin is what?

volent 5y ago

> evil > profoundly immoral and wicked. I think the concept that animal can be moral / immoral is already a philosophical subject. See the book "Can Animals Be Moral?" for reference. And in order to say that these monkeys are evil, you must first prove that they can be moral.

tantalor 5y ago
Which is to say they know right from wrong. I doubt it "Law of the jungle" and all that
foxfluff 5y ago
It depends on whether you view evil as something absolute or relative. If evil is absolute, then an animal (or an entire species) can be seen as evil by nature. Another species may be seen as good or neutral by nature even if the animal itself has no sense of right or wrong. It is indeed very philosophical and also up to your beliefs and values.

resoluteteeth 5y ago

If it's evil for primates to kill 250 dogs after one primate infant was killed is it evil for primates to kill 17 million minks because they could get a virus and theoretically spread that to primates?

GekkePrutser 5y ago
Take into consideration though that these minks were bred specifically to kill them for their skin. The end outcome was a ban on mink farms which is a pretty positive one for animal rights. I also think the e culling of all those minks was horrible but it's not as black and white as that.
- 323 5y ago
  That ban was going to happen anyway, but in 2024.
- Ansil849 5y ago
  > Take into consideration though that these minks were bred specifically to kill them for their skin. Is that not much more 'evil', to breed something specifically to kill it for its skin? If it's not, then why is it not allowed to be done by the same species to itself?
  - adventured 5y ago
    > Is that not much more 'evil', to breed something specifically to kill it for its skin? That depends on what value/s you place on the thing being bred for its coat. Pretty much all cultures around the world are different, subtly or dramatically, on such issues. > If it's not, then why is it not allowed to be done by the same species to itself? The answer to that is: because the humans judge that the minks (and their existence) are not equals in value to the humans, rather, they're considered property, to be disposed of as the owner sees fit. And obviously that aspect (as the owner sees fit) varies by location/culture. Your question - then why is it not allowed to be done by the same species to itself? - starts from the incorrect premise that values are objective, such as whether a mink should or should not be considered property (your premise requires starting from the notion that minks have protected rights and are equal to humans generally). Instead, those values are in fact subjective and will vary depending on which culture you're dealing with.
  - GekkePrutser 5y ago
    Probably yes. I think both are pretty bad. I eat pretty much vegetarian for this reason (not entirely because here in Spain it's impossible to be totally vegetarian especially when you go out for dinner)

hiptobecubic 5y ago

If you're going to go that far, maybe they are just trying to encourage the dogs to self-regulate.

wly_cdgr 5y ago

To me it sounds more like a straw that broke the camel's back moment. They've had enough and they can't take it anymore and are lashing out in a madness of grief and rage

rp1 5y ago

Why are they evil? Or at least more evil than humans? Humans have eradicated wolves almost everywhere due to the danger they pose humans, particularly children. How is this situation different? The monkeys are even targeting the very same species that humans have long targeted.

_jal 5y ago

The problem you have here is that your conception of this requires the potentially-'evil' to be intelligent - your assumption seems to be that these monkeys are smart enough to 'know right from wrong' or some such. But 'evil' is a human concept. I'm not saying some animals aren't capable of having a similar concept, but 'monkey evil' would not be rooted in the human evolution of societies, religious and philosophical traditions, etc. Try this one out: Are humans who kill monkeys for science "evil"? Not to (many) humans. But to monkeys?

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

froderick 5y ago

To begin to answer that you would need to start out by defining what you mean by ‘intelligent’ and ‘evil’, since both are subjective concepts that only exist relative to your perspective.