Do you think stepping on bugs is wrong - why or why not?

[YmirGF]

I have a deal with the bug world in general. Like the RevoltingOne, I will often capture a given beasty and relocate it to a more suitable place... (away from me...) but for the most part, if I encounter a bug indoors I assume it wants to move on to the next phase of existence. I am more than pleased to invoke my Siva aspect and help the little blighter along.

Also, while having lunch outdoors I am rather amused at zapping hornets and wasps. My bug zapper is affectionately called "The Hand of Allah".... and rarely misses. I then line them up on the sidewalk and merrily watch the tiny ants carry the carcasses away to their den and hungry coworkers...

Oh well, it passes the time...

 

[McBell]

So....how do you feel about bacteria and germs?

I wonder how viruses fit in...

 

[SkepticThinker]

I would consider killing an insect or spider without some due cause to be just as wrong as doing the same to a vertebrate like a cat or dog. I believe humans have an inherent bias in them to think more highly of things that are relatively similar to them (like mammals such as the cat or dog) and more lowly of those that are dissimilar (insects, spiders, worms, etc.). Another bias is that mammals are able to express pain in ways that we can understand better than can insects. Fear and disgust no doubt add to the justifications we give for killing invertebrates.

Many try to justify it by saying that invertebrates cannot feel pain, but there is evidence that at least some species do have that ability. It has been demonstrated that the crab species Neohelice granulata will learn to avoid electric shocks and even associate electric shocks with certain stimuli (conditioned learning). This would mean that the response to pain is more than a mere in-built reflex and that the crab takes active measures to avoid the shock. Snails have demonstrated similar conditioned learning with electrode implants wired to specific areas of the brain.

Argiope spiders are known to detach one of their legs if they are stung in the leg by a wasp. When the same spider is injected with saline in a leg, the spider does not amputate the leg. If it is injected with components from the venom known to cause pain in humans, it will remove the leg as usual. When injected with non-painful venom components, it will not remove the leg. This suggests a response to pain and not simply an instinctual response to the act of being stung in itself.

This. ^^^^

I accidentally squished a frog once, when I was a kid and I still feel terrible about it.

 

[nilsz]

I do not agree that animals are inherently equal to humans. It dehumanizes humans, and I find that this position is used to justify ignorance of the plight of humans in favour of animals - such as in advocating a vegeterian or vegan diet to people who cannot afford it. Such moralism I find arrogant.

On the other hand I believe that concern and empathy for animals is a useful exercise, especially among children, and that sadism towards animals can graduate to sadism against humans.

 

[Quintessence]

I do not agree that black people are equal to white people. It dehumanizes white people, and I find that this position is used to justify ignorance of the plight of white people in favor of black people - such as advocating the abolition of slavery which is important to support our economy. Such moralism I find arrogant.

 

[nilsz]

That is a grossly inappropriate false equivalence.

 

[Erebus]

To my mind we live in a largely uncaring universe and the death of a bug, animal or human is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. Heck if our planet was wiped out it would barely be a blip on the radar of the universe. As such I don't see any action, no matter how vile or benevolent as inherently right or wrong. Instead I consider morality to be an entirely subjective affair determined on a personal and societal level.
Having said that I generally don't kill bugs myself and prefer to put them outside if possible. I certainly don't go out of my way to harm them and take pleasure in their suffering. I don't see the point or the appeal frankly.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

If it were wrong to kill a bug, then what makes it any better to kill a cell (which is unavoidable)?

Right and wrong is taken into effect of those who we hear scream.

Honestly, the murderer is probably one of the most morally honest people out there.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Personally, I prefer not to senselessly murder bugs. However, my wife's extreme aversion to them has forced me to become a mass-murder of insects over the years. I do always try to move spiders outside, as opposed to killing them, though, as I've always had an affinity for spiders.

 

[Vinayaka]

I move bugs and flies outside. I blow mosquitoes off my arm. There was a wasp nest under a sidewalk just outside our Hindu temple. I made a warning sign. A little known fact about wasps is they never nest two years in a row in the same place.

Still, some ahimsa is practically unavoidable. Driving a car in a summer evening is an example. Some times and areas can kill a lot of bugs. I don't purposely drive during mid-day to limit my kill.

 

[Parsimony]

If it were wrong to kill a bug, then what makes it any better to kill a cell (which is unavoidable)?

Individual cells do not have the capacity to feel pain nor have brains and sensory organs capable of generating recognizable consciousness. It's also not really sensible to equate the avoidable with the unavoidable.

 

[Caladan]

Personally, I prefer not to senselessly murder bugs. However, my wife's extreme aversion to them has forced me to become a mass-murder of insects over the years. I do always try to move spiders outside, as opposed to killing them, though, as I've always had an affinity for spiders.

Yeah, I found myself in the situation before. Although my wife is not as bad as others I've known. Also I've made sure to show her that it's not complicated simply to remove various insects without squashing them.
However we did come to an agreement to leave spiders as stealthy pets. Lurking in the corners of our house and preying on uninvited guests.
I wish more people would realize the benefits of having spiders in the house (while being conscious to potential hazardous spiders if there are any in their area).
My philosophy is pretty straightforward. Not to squash anything, unless it's a case of damage to my property. I will tolerate venomous insects and reptiles around me much more than I would certain ants intrusions in my home. For vipers I have my snakes stick, always in my trunk, for oriental hornets I have pepper spray. Those ants however which colonize my cabinets, or threaten the integrity of the wood floor should expect jackboots and chemical attacks. I'ts nothing personal, just politics.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Individual cells do not have the capacity to feel pain nor have brains and sensory organs capable of generating recognizable consciousness. It's also not really sensible to equate the avoidable with the unavoidable.

To be honest, nobody can know for sure that anybody has consciousness.

 

[Willamena]

To be honest, nobody can know for sure that anybody has consciousness.

What do you mean, Sum?

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Yeah, I found myself in the situation before. Although my wife is not as bad as others I've known. Also I've made sure to show her that it's not complicated simply to remove various insects without squashing them.
However we did come to an agreement to leave spiders as stealthy pets. Lurking in the corners of our house and preying on uninvited guests.
I wish more people would realize the benefits of having spiders in the house (while being conscious to potential hazardous spiders if there are any in their area).
My philosophy is pretty straightforward. Not to squash anything, unless it's a case of damage to my property. I will tolerate venomous insects and reptiles around me much more than I would certain ants intrusions in my home. For vipers I have my snakes stick, always in my trunk, for oriental hornets I have pepper spray. Those ants however which colonize my cabinets, or threaten the integrity of the wood floor should expect jackboots and chemical attacks. I'ts nothing personal, just politics.

I can see the benefits of keeping spiders, but I can also see the downsides.

Don't spiders get in food sometimes?

Most of the time, when spiders lay eggs, they end up having LOTS of children, keeping spiders in your house will eventually come to a city or maybe an entire civilization of spiders in your house.

It wouldn't be uncommon to run into spiderwebs, either abandoned or still in use...

Plus, I find spiders that grow up to be very creepy. At the farm one night, there was a huge spider on a door to go in one of the barns, and with my arachnophobia, I did decide to take the MUCH longer way around into the barn for the rest of the night

Just the image of feeling them crawl on you at night in your bed, waking up with a tarantula on you or on your pillow, them jumping or falling on you while walking down a hallway, or having to grab something from a closet with a large spider on it (staring right at you!!?) would disturb me.

I don't know about you, but whenever there are spiders in my house, they certainly do not stay in the dark corners of my house, they often times will walk out in the open like they want to play video games with me or something :cover:

 

[The Sum of Awe]

What do you mean, Sum?

While we can be certain there is brain activity and all the organs are functioning, there's no way to be certain that anybody besides yourself is actually conscious.

Such as Descarte's famous "Cogito ergo sum"

 

[Willamena]

While we can be certain there is brain activity and all the organs are functioning, there's no way to be certain that anybody besides yourself is actually conscious.

Such as Descarte's famous "Cogito ergo sum"

Ah. So there's still at least one person who is consciousness.

*whew*

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Mosquitoes deserve death.

I had them buzzing inside my ears and nostrils last night, looking for a way to enter my body as I was trying to sleep.

I go to grab a shirt out of my closet this morning, and they have all set up home in there...

As soon as I took a shirt out, about 1,000 mosquitoes flew out of my closet.

No ahimsa for mosquitoes or flies...none whatsoever...

*calls exterminator guy...

 

[Vinayaka]

Mosquitoes deserve death.

I had them buzzing inside my ears and nostrils last night, looking for a way to enter my body as I was trying to sleep.

I go to grab a shirt out of my closet this morning, and they have all set up home in there...

As soon as I took a shirt out, about 1,000 mosquitoes flew out of my closet.

No ahimsa for mosquitoes or flies...none whatsoever...

*calls exterminator guy...

Have you tried sambrani? It worked wonders in some hotels I stayed in in India. Might be cheaper than an exterminator.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Have you tried sambrani? It worked wonders in some hotels I stayed in in India. Might be cheaper than an exterminator.

What is sambrani? I tried a mosquito coil last night, but it made me choke on the fumes. I am thinking about going out and buying a mosquito net...this sucks (so do they).