| dc.description.abstract | In this dissertation, three scholars’ theories and books will be discussed: “ Daniel A. Dombrowski’s “ The Philosophy of Vegetarianism”, Peter Singer’s “ Animal Liberation”, and Michael Allen Fox’s “ Deep Vegetarianism”.
In “ The Philosophy of Vegetarianism”, we can find the idea of vegetarianism from the ancient Greek mythology to the modern times: the Golden age, the Pythagoreans, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Theophrastus, the Hellenistic Era, the Romans, Plutarch, the Neoplatonists, Richard Rorty, and Charles Hartshorne.
Dombrowski uses the tools and insights of the contemporary vegetarianism debates in order to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of ancient philosophical vegetarianism. On the other hand, he also uses the wisdom of the Greek vegetarianism as an Archimedean point from which to critique both the opponents and the defenders of contemporary philosophical vegetarianism.
In “ Animal Liberation”, Singer exposes the chilling realities of today’s “ factory farms”. He has awakened millions of people to the existence of “ speciesism”— human systematic disregard of nonhuman animals—inspiring a worldwide movement to transform our attitude to animals and eliminate the cruelty we inflict on them.
In “ Deep Vegetarianism”, Fox challenges the basic assumptions of a meat-eating society. In discussing the reasons, emotions, and experiences involved in choosing vegetarianism, he considers such issues as good health, the meaning of food, world hunger, religions, and spirituality. In addition, he discovers the link between vegetarianism and other human rights movement and ideologies, for example, the feminism.
Therefore, this dissertation shows the comparison of the three authors’ vegetarianism ideas. And the purpose is trying to convince the people that killing animals for food is cruel and immoral and every one should has the duty to become a vegetarian.
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