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Eugenics on Animals

The Silence of Vegans and Animal Protectors

In recent years, a troubling trend has emerged within the animal rights and vegan communities: a conspicuous silence on the subject of animal eugenics or anthropocentric genetic modification of animals. This silence is particularly striking given these communities' typically vocal stance on issues affecting animal welfare. However, this apparent indifference may stem not from apathy, but from a profound philosophical challenge we term the Wittgensteinian Silence Problem (chapter ^).

Vegan Forum

Leduc elaborated on this silence, noting:

Whether it's chimera animals (Inf'OGM: Bioethics: chimeric animals producing human organs) or iPS cells facilitating mass eugenics (Inf'OGM: Bioethics: What is behind iPS cells?), vegans say nothing! Only three anti-animal experimentation associations (and myself) have written op-eds and engaged in significant activism in the Senate.

The GMO debate is over

While the GMO debate has been percolating for nearly three decades, our scientific data indicate it's now over. The anti-GMO movement used to be a cultural juggernaut. But as time goes on, the activist groups that once held so much sway seem increasingly irrelevant.

Though we still hear some moaning and groaning it primarily comes from a small group. Most people simply aren't concerned about GMOs.

[Show sources]

This declaration, coupled with the observed silence from traditionally vocal animal rights advocates, raises profound questions about the state of the discourse surrounding animal eugenics and GMOs. Why have those who typically champion animal welfare fallen silent on this critical issue? Is this silence truly indicative of acceptance, or does it mask a deeper, more complex philosophical challenge?

To unravel this paradox, we must delve into the heart of the Wittgensteinian Silence Problem and explore the profound intellectual and moral dilemmas posed by animal eugenics in the age of advanced biotechnology.

An Intellectual Problem

The eugenics article has demonstrated that eugenics can be considered a corruption of nature from nature's own perspective. By attempting to direct evolution through an external, anthropocentric lens, eugenics moves counter to the intrinsic processes that foster resilience and strength in time.

The fundamental intellectual flaws of eugenics are difficult to overcome , especially when it concerns a practical defense. This difficulty in articulating a defense against eugenics illuminates why many advocates for nature and animals may retreat to an intellectual back seat and are silent when it concerns eugenics.

woman moral compass

The Wittgensteinian Silence Problem

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent. ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein

This profound statement by Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein encapsulates a fundamental challenge in the debate surrounding animal protection and eugenics. When it comes to defending animals against genetic modification, we encounter a paradox: the moral imperative that many feel intuitively cannot always be easily articulated or translated into language.

If a man were to inquire of Nature the reason of her creative activity, and if she were willing to give ear and answer, she would say—Ask me not, but understand in silence, even as I am silent and am not wont to speak.

The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

The Wittgensteinian Silence problem illuminates the profound challenge faced by animal rights advocates and vegans when confronting the issue of animal eugenics and GMOs. This silence is not born of apathy, but rather stems from the difficulty in articulating a defense against practices that fundamentally alter the nature of life itself. The apparent decline in anti-GMO activism among these groups is not a sign of acceptance, but a manifestation of an intellectual impasse—a struggle to bridge the gap between deeply felt moral intuitions and the limitations of language in expressing them. As we grapple with the ethical implications of genetic modification in animals, we must recognize that silence does not equate to consent, but may instead reflect the profound complexity of the moral landscape we now navigate.

 

Share your insights and comments with us at [email protected].

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    Foreword /
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    Like love, morality defies words - yet 🍃 Nature depends on your voice. Break the Wittgensteinian Silence on eugenics. Speak up.

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