History And Philosophy Of Vegetarianism :: essays research papers

Vegetarianism is the theory or practice of alive solely on vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts. It is sound for moral, ascetic or nutritional reasonsIn Western society today meat in many dissimilar forms is readily and economic exclusivelyy available, yet the current trend shows a evolution number of voluntary vegetarians around the world. In the United States, roughly 3 to 4 percent of the total populations atomic number 18 considered vegetarian. The origins of modern day Vegetarian ism and its influences can be traced back nearly three thousand years. . just about vegetarians are people who have understood that to contribute towards a more(prenominal) peaceful society we must first solve the problem of madness in our own hearts. So its not surprising that thousands of people from all walks of life have, in their search for truth, become vegetarian. Many well shaft influential philosophers have both preached as well as practiced its inherent advantages.The earliest archeo logical data we have that suggest a voluntary partial vegetarian diet is the Old kingdom of Egypt. There are hieroglyphic inscriptions, which suggest the avoidance of eating some animals. The priests avoided eating hogget for its lack of cleanliness, and cow for their belief that it was sacred master(prenominal)ly did this. This is believed to been practiced as early as 3000 BC. There are few historical sources on the practice of abstaining from meat in ancient Egypt, but we do know it directly influenced the beliefs held across the Mediterranean in Greece.Pythagoras was born off the border of Turkey on the Island of Samos in the 6th century BC. He is more or less famous for his well- cognize proposition about right angle triangles, known as the Pythagorean theorem. Having spent time in Egypt and Babylon, much of his main philosophical teachings are a combination of ideas expressed in the places he traveled to. Pythagoras preached the nous as being abstract and immortal. A soul is within all living creatures, and therefore all creatures, man or beast deserve to be treated com winnow outionately. The soul was said to pass between lives into different living creatures. Therefore in eating the underframe of an animal, one could be eating the flesh of a deceased cousin. This was jolly revolutionary for a world in which religious ritual was revolve around on animal sacrifice. He also believed in the concept that an fadeless world which was revealed to the intellect through continuous ascetic routines rather accordingly the senses.