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Johannes, I am almost on your side on this. First, I should note that my impression from lorrie is that this whale hunt is a publicity stunt by a Northwest tribe, and that the hunt is more ritual than provisioning, but since I am unclear, I have tried to indicate a possible range of reactions depending upon the actual details. The reason that I say that I am almost on your side is that while I do not think that there is a moral injunction against eating dogs, say, I think that in places where plenty of other meat is available, and the dog is generally treated as a pet, the revulsion is appropriate, and cannot be dismissed as being "merely" cultural. Works of art are merely objects, and yet there is a particular horror of vandalism against them, more than is felt about the ordinary violation of property, because they are special objects. Similarly, dogs have a certain social character that makes it improper to eat them, unless desperate. In the case of whales, although they are not domesticated, it is widely known that they are among the several species that are closest to us in intellectual capacity, and therefore there is a reluctance to treat them the same as any bovine. Just as courtesy enhances the ethical character, while falling short of moral injunction, so do these kinds of sensitivities.... |
