Yet again Suffering 2.0

Trappist detail

Unfortunately the worries we have expressed on a post from about a year and half ago, regarding NASA announcement that its space telescope Kepler spotted the most similar planet to Earth that has ever been discovered (Kepler-452b), got more relevant with the new discovery of 7 earth-sized planets.

So far scientists can’t make further observations regarding those planets such as the composition of their atmosphere, their temperatures and the surface pressure. Also, although they are much closer to earth than Kepler-452b (39 light years compared with 1,400 light years), it is still way too far. So despite that currently these planets are far from being relevant as a habitual option for humans, as the finding of a potential habitable planet gets closer and closer, the necessity for the destruction of this one must get clearer and clearer.

Please read our argumentative post about the discovery of Kepler-452b since it is relevant to the planets orbiting Trappist-1 (especially E,F and G) at least as much.

The Better Angels of Our Nature – Part 7

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The following is the last part of our critical review of Steven Pinker’s theory of a historical decline in violence, in which we further address his claim of a decline in violence towards nonhuman animals, and the ways in which he struggles to “massage” reality to fit his grand theory.
Violence towards nonhuman animals was of course in the center of all of our reviews, however in the former post and in this one, we specifically address his specific relation to the issue. Continue reading

The Better Angels of Our Nature – Part 6

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Unfortunately but unsurprisingly Pinker dedicates only a tiny part of his extensive book about violence to nonhuman animals. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, he decided to call this chapter Animal Rights and the Decline of Cruelty to Animals, that is despite that the book’s claim is for a decline in violence. Pinker knows there is no decline in violence towards animals, so he changed the term to a more conceivable one. Still wrong, but more defensible. Continue reading