Moores intention in this deeply historical book is to situate Nietzsches thoughts in the context of two dominant trends in late-nineteenth century European intellectual life evolutionary biology and fin-de-sicle theories of degeneration. According to Moore, Nietzsche was well read in the literature of both areas, and consequently, his philosophy is heavily influenced by the emerging debates about the evolution and/or degeneration of man. In this respect and this is one of Moores key claims Nietzsche did not transcend his time to the extent that he repeatedly claims. For Moore, a measure of the contemporary influence on Nietzsche is found in his use of biological/medical language, and a central objective of this book is to decipher this language to discriminate Nietzsches literal from his metaphorical uses. Moore promises to analyze Nietzsches use of concepts such as evolution, degeneration, health, sickness, etc., and to tell us how much Nietzsche borrowed from the dominant paradigm of his time and how much, through metaphor and ironic distance, he transcended the contemporary discussion.

Broadly speaking, Moore presents two central arguments: first, he contends that Nietzsche developed his own theory of evolution which was, like so many other nineteenth-century evolutionary theories, anti-Darwinian. Moore studies the impact of Nietzsches evolutionary theory on his accounts of morality and art and in doing so sets up a distinction between his own interpretation and a long tradition of Nietzsche scholarship which has viewed his characteristic appeal to the language and concepts of biology as mere rhetorical posturing, as an ironic counterweight to the otherworldliness of traditional views (p. 85). Second, Moore concludes that Nietzsche goes beyond his age primarily by turning Christian concerns with degeneracy, decadence and mental illness back upon Christianity itself. For Moore, this ironic move is Nietzsches most distinguishing philosophical trait. Moore also traces Nietzsches medical talk of decadence through his analyses of art and morality. (These two lines of thought correspond to the two parts of the book.)

Nietzsche, Biology and Metaphor is a fascinating reconstruction of pockets of nineteenth century intellectual history and contains some intriguing accounts of the influence on Nietzsches thinking of biologists such as Wilhelm Roux and William Rolph. Moore traces Nietzsches view of agency as a war between conflicting internal forces to the work of Roux who argued that organs, tissues, cells and even molecules of organic matter are found in an unceasing struggle for existence with one another for food, space and the utilization of external stimulation (p. 37). Roux was aware that this account of the internal workings of an organism begged the question as to why such an organism did not simply fall apart under the stress of this ongoing competition. He accounted for prolonged existence in terms of the notion of self-regulation which essentially means that the organism temporarily stabilizes when its most adapted components prevail. According to Moore, Nietzsche borrowed Rouxs theory in developing his notion of agency as a conflict of multiple internal forces periodically resolving itself through the establishment of a regulative hierarchy.

Another major influence on Nietzsche was William Rolph who argued against what he perceived as Darwins insistence on the primacy of a survival instinct. For Rolph, the primary biological urge was for expansion and not preservation. In commenting on Rolph, Moore writes:

Much of Moores book contains similarly detailed accounts of obscure, but as far as Nietzsche is concerned extremely relevant, biological theories. Thus, some of Nietzsches central notions for example, the fractured agent and the will to power are cast against a backdrop of contemporary biology, filled as it was with a proliferation of misreadings and misguided criticisms of Darwin. Moores treatment of the effects of these biologists on Nietzsches thinking is thoroughly convincing and gives real content to the widely accepted, though vague, idea that Nietzsche was influenced by contemporary science.

My high regard for Moores study is, however, tempered by two serious concerns. The first is Moores almost exclusive reliance on Nietzsches unpublished notes. At this stage in Nietzsche scholarship, the debate over the use of his notes is all too familiar, and I will not rehearse it here. In recreating Nietzsches reading and understanding of contemporary biologists Moore relies on the notes to such an extent that the reader begins to get the impression that he is unearthing a hidden Nietzsche. Unfortunately, he never brings this underground Nietzsche to the surface. Nietzsches published works are not just influenced by contemporary biology but also by Greek philosophy, by Kant and Schopenhauer, by Christian writers, etc. Moore never fully acknowledges this, and for the most part, treats the biological Nietzsche as the only Nietzsche. Thus, certain problems arise with Moores interpretation of Nietzsche on morality and art because he does not juxtapose the theories that he culls from the notes and the published views. I will mention three such problems.

In tracing the impact of Nietzsches biologism through his critique of morality Moore says: It is against this historical backdrop, I believe, that we must reconsider Nietzsches naturalistic critique of traditional morality (p. 58). This backdrop is, in part, made up of Nietzsches theory of evolution, according to which the driving force in evolution is not natural selection or the struggle for existence, but the will to power. Moore tells us that Nietzsche differentiates the evolution of the strong and the weak. The evolution of the strong is a matter of the springing forth of isolated cases of intense complexity and individuality. Evolution then is the sudden eruption of lifes creative energies (p. 54). The weak evolve by gathering in increasingly large groups and reaching higher and higher levels of adaptation. One of their adaptive strategies is morality. Thus, the morality of the majority is herd morality, which is a pattern of habitual and heritable behavior promoting the continued survival of the social organism. According to Moore, Nietzsches self-governing individual emerges from the social organism when with the natural cycle of growth and decay, the social organism begins gradually to disintegrate (p. 82). Moore writes:

This social collapse leaves the herd members without internal regulation and in the ensuing conditions only those strong individuals capable of self-regulation will flourish.

According to Moore, this account is supposed to clearly anticipate Nietzsches more famous differentiation of master and slave moralities in Beyond Good and Evil and On the Genealogy of Morality (p. 62). But does it? Moore writes that for Nietzsche the higher individualistic morality emerges from the lower herd morality. Mans original state is one of a herd-like mentality from which a higher individuality emerges. But Nietzsche is adamant in the Genealogy that the higher (master) morality comes first and that lower (slave) morality is a reaction. If anything, what Moore has pointed to may form the basis for Nietzsches understanding of the morality of mores. Nietzsche explicitly links herd instinct and morality of mores in The Gay Science 149 and 296. But Moore never introduces Nietzsches published discussion of master morality, slave morality or the morality of mores in order to even point to differences or gaps between the published and unpublished accounts, or to explain how exactly the unpublished theory that he outlines is supposed to anticipate Nietzsches better-known account.

Moores account of the development of Nietzsches critique of morality also suffers from his almost exclusive focus on the notes. In assessing Human, All Too Human Moore claims that unlike Nietzsches later thinking there is no attempt to view moral imperatives as merely the rationalization of feelings accompanying certain physiological states (p. 59). If this is to suggest a shift in Nietzsches published works toward a different kind of analysis after Human, All Too Human, then it is straightforwardly inaccurate. In Human, All Too Human 44 Nietzsche analyzes the moral weight of gratitude as a rationalization of a desire for revenge. In Human, All Too Human 45, Nietzsche tells us that good and bad have a dual history and that whoever has the power to repay good with good, evil with evil is called good. Feelings of power and strength are associated with being a member of a tightly knit caste. Though powerlessness is not first and foremost a physiological state, these sections demonstrate that Moore is trying to point to a development that does not exist in the published works. Quite simply, Nietzsche retains the same kind of analysis from Human, All Too Human to the Genealogy grounding morality in a combination of social structures and individual psychology.

Finally, Moore characterizes Nietzsches early criticisms of morality as a critique of the teleological assumptions in contemporary moral theories. Thus, Nietzsche criticizes Spencers view that morality serves both self-preservation and preservation of the community. Moore adds that this analysis takes place before Nietzsche develops the theory of will to power and bemoans the development of this later theory claiming that it opens Nietzsche himself up to a critique of teleological explanations. He writes: his early evolutionism is far more Darwinian and certainly less teleological than his later theory of the will to power (p. 66). But how can this interpretation be reconciled with Beyond Good and Evil 13 where Nietzsche writes:

Clearly, Nietzsches own understanding of will to power as non-teleological is at odds with the account that Moore compiles from the notes.

In the end what Moore establishes is that Nietzsches thinking in his notes does not transcend his time. Given that these are unpublished notes often compiled during the reading of other works it is perhaps unsurprising that they contain many virtual paraphrases of things read. Nietzsches published works, on the other hand, typically reflect all the various influences and interests that affected him in his writing, and Moores focus on the notes simply disqualifies him from being able to make a judgment on the extent to which these published works do or do not take Nietzsche beyond the contemporary scene.

My second main criticism of the book is that it lacks a certain interpretive rigor. To take just one example: in Chapter 4 Moore initially argues that Nietzsche, perhaps influenced by Comte Arthur de Gobineau, traces contemporary decadence to the racial intermingling of the nineteenth century (p. 123). But, later in the same section, Moore argues that Nietzsche, under the influence of Charles Fr, equates degeneracy and weakness of the will. We might expect that Moore would then go on to give a causal account of weakness of will in terms of racial intermingling, but in actual fact he argues that Nietzsche, following Fr, posits a number of other factors leading to weakness of will including overwork, malnutrition, rapid industrialization (p. 127). Racial intermingling simply drops out of the account. This is not an insurmountable problem, or even an unusual occurrence in reading Nietzsche, since he often gives many accounts of the same phenomenon. But the Nietzsche commentator must take on the challenge of reconciling the various accounts or at least placing them in a time-line. In general, Moore does not engage in this kind of analysis to a sufficient degree.

Having made these criticisms I must, at the same time, say that the primary virtue of this book is that it shows us a different Nietzsche: it enriches our understanding of Nietzsche as a nineteenth century figure. Most readers of Nietzsche could say one or two things about the influence of contemporary science but this book introduces many of the specifics in a very scholarly way. (For example, Moore is excellent in detailing Nietzsches disgust at the extent to which contemporary science was co-opted by Christian values and turned to traditional ends.) What remains to be done is to bring Moores interpretation of Nietzsche together with the best current readings of Nietzsches published work. I am confident that such an exercise would throw light on many interpretive disputes in Nietzsche scholarship such as the disagreement over the status of the will to power doctrine and thereby enrich our understanding of one of Europes greatest thinkers.

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Nietzsche, Biology and Metaphor // Reviews // Notre Dame ...

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Came in on a Friday night for dinner with some friends. The food was really tasty we ordered the crispy egg rolls, shrimp with coconut ( I forgot the name), Tom Kha, - and Mango Salad to share. For my entree I ordered the spicy basil fried rice with mock duck, hubby ordered the spicy noodles. I tried the red curry, and pad kra pow as well. Everything and I mean everything was delicious. Everything had a great spice level and so flavorful. The service was great, everyone who helped us was super sweet. I highly recommend stopping here to grab a bite!

+ Great ambiance, cute and cozy. Pretty small place but there is also an outdoor seating area.+ Yummy Thai food. I had the mock duck larb - pretty good. Also tried the shrimp pad thai and the Red Sea (mixed seafood). Everything was good.+ Ample portion sizes.+ Friendly and efficient service.- Menu is a bit small. I'm used to seeing a bigger selection at Thai restaurants.

"Chi Extraordinary Kitchen": I like the name of this restaurant. At first, it could seem like bloated boasting to refer to one's kitchen as "extraordinary", but I take the designation at face value, and as a matter of pride. I also know that Asian restaurants often take liberties with their names [eg. "Number One Chinese Restaurant", etc.].Anyway, I arrived at Chi on Friday at 4:30 p.m., right when the dining room opened. I parked across the street and observed the blinds being raised, so I knew it was time to leave my car and walk to the front door. A woman was in the process of unlocking the door from the inside as I arrived. I would have expected perhaps that she would have propped open the door for me as she unlocked it directly in front of me. However, she just backed away from the door. When I stepped through the door into the reception, her welcome was not "extraordinarily" friendly, "like the named Kitchen", but it appears she was simply occupied with other opening duties, such as turning on the music, etc., for later, Sandy [that was her name] was all smiles and giggles in the Thai tradition.Sandy motioned with her hand towards the dining room and said "sit anywhere". I took a nice banquette by the widow. The room is high-ceilinged, airy and comfortable, with interesting lighting fixtures dangling overhead. A pretty miniature succulent is placed on each table. The tables are regrettably laid with paper napkins, seemingly incongruous with the simple elegance to which the restaurant appears to aspire. The wine list consists of six bottles of white wine and three bottles of red wine. I asked Sandy to please bring a bottle of the Alias Chardonnay. When I caught sight of her happily bringing me a glass of white wine, I inquired before she reached the table "What's that?", to which she responded "Your Alias Chardonnay". I again stated I had ordered a BOTTLE of Alias Chardonnay, and she immediately returned to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle as previously requested. The wine glasses were nice and large, which is always a plus. After the initial pour by Sandy, there were no further pours by any staff member. Why not?From the menu, which features photographs of many of the available dishes, I selected the "Pad Cha Salmon", which was described on the menu as Wild Salmon sauted in spicy Thai Pad Cha Sauce with green beans, lemongrass, peppercorn and fresh basil. I advised Sandy I liked spicy food, so when she asked me "How spicy?", I responded with a firm number "8". Sandy further cautioned me "I want you to know we do THAI spicy here", to which I replied that was perfectly understood and lucky "8" it would remain.When the Salmon was presented to the table, it was quite pretty to look at, although the jagged edge slices of carrots seemed ordinary. I asked Sandy for some lemon wedges to squeeze on the salmon, and she brought me limes. In response to my follow up inquiry as to lemons, she admitted "this is all we have". Of interest, as I looked at the dish, and readied my fork to "dive in", I noticed a six-inch long strand of shiny black hair languidly laced and intertwined among the salmon and vegetables. The longest hair on my head is one inch at the most, so I knew the interloper had not fallen from my head. I know there are those here on Yelp who go berserk when this issue occurs. However, I simply lifted the offending strand off of the salmon and laid it on a side plate. Although the presence of the hair certainly did not please me, I am not germ phobic. DNA is DNA after all, and it is shared germs and all when one kisses someone, so isn't it really all the same, despite this not being consensual? I did not mention the "wayward hair" issue to Sandy, since I certainly did not want to wait for another salmon to be prepared and I actually forgot all about it anyway before I left the restaurant. Dessert was a refreshing coconut ice cream, enjoyed with the last of the wine.

FIRST IMPRESSIONSClean, modern, and surprisingly quiet, Chi Extraordinary Kitchen was very inviting from the start. Granted, it appears I am their first customer of the day to dine in-house, the service has been cordially attentive.THE EATSJasmine Blossom tea -- Im a sucker for Jasmine green tea. It's one of my favorites because it's so calming. (Jasmine is the fragrance of home for me; I've always had night-blooming jasmine at every home I've made.)Somtom (green papaya salad) -- This is a dish I've been itching to try but have not made a priority to do so. Finally opted to order Chi's vegetarian versionGreen curry -- This curry is (rightly or wrongly) my litmus test of how I like a Thai restaurant. As a former vegetarian, it makes me happy to see their curry base is vegan (omitting the traditional shrimp paste). But I won't lie and say I don't wish they had a THE VERDICTChi Extraordinary Kitchen is a nice modern and approachable take on California Thai cuisine. If you're in the area and have a taste for Thai, this is a fantastic spot to satisfy that craving.

This place is gold! My girlfriend an I ended up coming here instead of cafe 21 because there was a wait. And all of the food is high quality and delicious!!! We did not expect it, hidden gemWe got the coconut shrimp, red curry, spicy shrimp noodles. We also got the chi lychee martini!! It was five star all day...

Decent Thai Food. The noodles and curry we ordered were perfectly okay. We did have issues with our take-out order, but they were all solved quickly!

It was a miserably hot day yesterday and my 2 girlfriends and I were looking for somewhere in North Park/Normal Heights for lunch. One recommended a couple places, but the other didn't have A/C so it was unanimous that we go to Chi. What a beautiful restaurant, casual yet upscale.The Miang Kham came highly recommended and two of us ordered it. It's a mix of grilled shrimp, toasted coconut, lime zest, ginger, and shallots on lettuce leaves ... with a delicious tamarind sauce. YUMMY!One had the Fresh Spring Rolls for her lunch and my other friend and I shared an order in addition to the Miang Kham. The Spring Rolls were tasty and the accompanying spicy sauce was quite good, too.Service was great and so was the food. I'm kind of torn between 4 and 5 stars...nothing to keep from giving 5 stars but I usually wait for a second visit. However, it was such a nice experience I'm going with 5 stars. Great job, Chi!

Good food, but not the best! I guess having spent so much time in Linda vista area- I really look for super authentic food. We came in about 12 PM at lunch and got seated immediately. Service was great and we were given water, menus right away. Super clean restaurant as well. My co worker and I both got the chicken kapow dish, which was great but again- wasn't the most authentic version of Thai. I asked for spice level 6 which I think they matched, so that was a refreshing change. Probably wouldn't come regularly unless I'm in the area.

Came here for lunch one day and had the whole place to ourselves. Service was quick and prompt -- as it should be when you are the only ones there. The lack of other customers had me concerned that we had chosen poorly, but we decided to proceed.I was hungry and promptly ordered the mango salad special with shrimp. There had to have been a whole mango. It was like a mango explosion. The shrimp were large and tasty as well. The citrus dressing made it all complete with just the right amount of tang. Overall, nicely done.I also decided to have the pad thai with shrimp. The noodles were fresh and good. The flavor was great. It was not too greasy as some pad thai can be. It was one of the better pad thai I have had. Would order again no doubt.The ambiance seems upscale and the decor is great. I think this place is quite good and warrants another visit for sure.

Quaint restaurant, lovely interior. Warm, friendly, attentive service from start to finish. Tried the tofu spring rolls, the crab/shrimp spring rolls, spicy noodles with crispy fish, papaya salad, green curry and mango and sticky rice. Everything was delicious. Generous portions. Spice level was perfect. Will definitely be back!

The food is great (and they even had organic beer for those you'd care to know about THAT :-)And then.........One day, We saw a young bird fall behind their beautiful outdoor planter box. The little guy (or gal) landed on the window frame where s/he got stuck as there was no space between the planter and the wall preventing access to the ground. We couldn't reach the bird from above as the box is so high and the distance to the window so narrow.We started to worry until we got unexpected help from the restaurant. (The restaurant was closed at that time!) This help was crucial to move the heavy planter and get the tiny bird out of its confinement.Thank you all at Chi's not only for running an excellent restaurant but also for your kindness and humanity!We love you guys!!

We went here out of a yelp review It's been there a year plusI zoom by often missing this MenuSign just upFirst off Excellent Flavors!!Beautiful presentation Food was "The Best" There should be a line at the door!Coconut Shrimp Catfish with red curry crispy fried basil Chicken with green Curry, potato, carrot I'm a retired Executive Chef I do know about great food, Please come and fall in love with this slick spot and there amazing flavors!C.R. Brown

A friend took me to dinner tonight at Chi restaurant, which was my first, rather skeptical, experience with Thai food. Whoever designed the decor in that restaurant nailed it. I loved the decor, the colors and the elegant simplicity. But even better was the food. It was incredible and the waitstaff was professional and very friendly. Our water took the time to explain the menu and accommodate my order. The owner Patti really hit the bullseye on this venture. I plan to take my aunt there when she visits me next month.

The food is nicely presented and the dishes are tasty. It wasn't too crowded when we went, and the service was fast and friendly.

Sawadii-khap!Thai food seems to be a bit less trendy these days, but so glad this place came to the north end of North Park. Solid offering of tasty "aloy-ma-ma" (extra delicious) dishes. We tried the tofu lettuce wrap apps, green curry with mixed seafood and massaman curry with roasted chicken. Goodbeer and wine to accompany our dishes. I ordered spice level 6 with the green curry but should have pushed it a bit higher.Super great staff, including hulking body builder Thai guy and two gorgeous young ladies. Prices a bit on the high side but not outrageous, especially for dinner (we did not go there for cheap business day lunch special).Will return. There's plenty more to try. Khrap-Kuhn-Khap!!!

The name does say it all for this quaint healthy Asian eatery. Locally sources vegetables combined with solid recipes explain why people were in and out all night getting take out orders. Seating is sparce but the food is worth the wait. For an appetizer I had the fried spring rolls; they were light and crisp with a perfect sweet sauce. My entree was shrimp and crab curry noodles and coconut shrimp. These were the biggest coconut shrimp I have ever had and the noodles were very satisfying. I am definitely come back to try more of the menu. Prices are very reasonable and the service was quick and friendly. Parking was the hardest part, but side streets solved that problem with ease.

I just finished having lunch at Chi and I am in love with it. The decor creates a relaxing yet trendy atmosphere. My friend and I both had the spicy basil noodles and they were amazing. This was exactly what I was envisioning for my yummy Thai lunch. Our meals came with a soup and delicious yellow curry samosas. Our server was very attentive and took special care of my friend's 2-year old. Chi was enjoyed by all three of us.

I've been here twice for dinner and both time, the quality of the ingredients were fresh. Also, I feel they don't use as much MSG as other thai places. I liked the curry and spicy basil fried rice, Pad Thai was ok but not the best. Overall, It's a nice place and service.

The quality of the ingredients was great but they use way too much Sugar. Our Tom kah would had been very good if not for the amount of Sugar and too much lime. I like a lot of lime but this was out of proportionI thought infact they might have tried to correct with lime the too much Sugar they used or vice versaI had drunken noodles After and again they would have been really good if not for the Sugar. Same with my husband s dish ( he had garlic broccoli and again same issue)A lot of beers to choose fromI had a coconut creme drink that tasted like nothingWish they revised the Sugar content of their recipesPlumeria still is my favorite thai in SD

This is my go-to place for great Thai food. A small place with good food. I always order the Tom Yum, Ginger fish (ask for steamed) and Mock Duck Garlic Pepper. The Tom Yum has a lemony flavor and a bite of pepper. I like it with vegetables only. We once ordered the Ginger fish and didn't specify steamed. The fish was fried and made the dish oily. My favorite is the Mock Duck Garlic Pepper. The mock duck is crispy, not rubbery and served with steamed broccoli.The service is homey, can be a bit slow if they are busy.

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Chi Extraordinary Kitchen - 328 Photos & 258 Reviews ...

ndenis -This.

Whether he cheated on his wives, was an alcoholic, raped baby butterflies, it doesn't matter. As the poster above said, the philosophy he is communicating is not one of Christian values of right vs wrong.

I am not talking about "right vs wrong" or criticizing him for not following Christian values. That wasn't my point

My point is that the words he speaks contradicts the actuality of his life. He speaks about peace love and compassion to his followers, but in his real life, he destroyed his families because he kept chasing after "falling in love". Where was the peace, love and compassion then? If anything there was only peace love and compassion for his own emotional and psychological needs.

Then it's just intellectual musings. If those words are not from the reality of his life, then they are empty words. You can't just talk, it has to be manifested in your being, in your actions. Not that you are living by your words (moral codes, etc), but that your living is being expressed through those words.

I'm not saying that. I don't care if he cheats on his various wives and abandons his various children. I don't care if he drinks to help numb the pain. I'm ONLY saying that his life and his actions contradicts the words he spoke. I'm not even saying "practice what you preach!!! How dare you!"; I'm only pointing out the fact that his words contradicted his life.

That is to a great degree my point

So if he arrived at the very incarnation that he was presently living, he would be talking about selfishness, egotism, greed etc

Why is he talking about awareness, peace, love and compassion when he was actually a selfish, greedy man? Why was he talking about awareness when he was acting like a man blinded by "falling in love" all the time? What awareness? I see nothing but a man still asleep.

Yes, just a game. Nothing else

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Alan Watts - The Underground

Welcome to the OSHO International Meditation Resort.

If this is your first visit you probably would like to take a look around. Why not take aphototour here.

As you can see, as a Meditation Resort it reflects a unique combination of the meditation qualities of a Gautama the Buddha and the resort qualities of a Zorba the Greek. Zorba the Buddha in fact!

A place where the mind, body and soul can play harmoniously together rather than pulling in different directions!

When you arrive, the front desk will direct you to the Welcome Center just to the right of the main entrance. They will take care of your registration for participation in the Meditation Resort activities. For all the details please seehere.

If you would like to stay on campus, there is the Osho Guesthousehere. Or, if you have more time available, you can check out the Living In Programhere.

Once you have settled you will probably want to review the Osho Multiversity programshere. And the daily meditation schedulehere.

If you are still wondering how to find us, please visit ourGetting Here section.

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Visit | OSHO | Meditation - Mindfulness and the Science of ...

Positive Mental Attitude

So much has been written for so many years about the importance of having a Positive Mental Attitude. Entire sections of the libraries and bookstores are dedicated to itmuch of it called Self Help. Philosophers have philosophized and theorists have theorized and authors and motivational speakers have built entire careers recirculating the same information for years and years.

So do we get it?

How many times can we as authors, livers-of-life, speakers, teachers, writers, business people, Moms, Dads, CEOs, and all the rest keep saying the same thing? The answer is, endlesslyuntil we get it!

Aristotle, back in the forever ago, said, We become just by performing just action, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave action. (italics added for emphasis)

AND

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Dr. Andrew Newberg said, Language shapes our behavior and each word we use is imbued with multitudes of personal meaning. The right words spoken in the right way can bring us love, money and respect, while the wrong wordsor even the right words spoken in the wrong waycan lead to a country to war. We must carefully orchestrate our speech if we want to achieve our goals and bring our dreams to fruition.

Tony Robbins often says, Where your focus goes, energy flows. If you focus on your negativity and fears, those thoughts will consume you and suck all of your energy

You get the picture. How we think, how we feel, the words we say, can affect every aspect of our lives, creating success and abundance or lack thereof.

As Associates with TruVision Health, we are in the business of helping people. The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, because there is so much focus is on the shell that we carry around from the moment we are born until the moment we die. We are judged by the skin suit that we wear, whether it reflects who we are on the inside or not. Thats why the weight loss industry is infused with billions of dollars. People will dump thousands upon thousands of dollars into changing their outsides, with very little thought given to their insides. And by insides, we mean, THEM/YOU/METhe CORE being underneath all the fat, muscle, skeleton and organs.

We come across people every day who have tried everything, and nothing works. We come across people every day whose lives have been changed by TruVision because it finally worked. We encounter customers and friends and Associates who are thriving, successful, happy, and fulfilled. While others seem to stay stuck. What is the difference? What makes the differences so vast?

10 times out of 10, a new customer who is committed to changing their life, who is committed to taking the products consistently, who is committed to walking or exercising, who is committed to keeping a happy attitude WILL BE SUCCESSFUL. Their success comes in many formsthe scale just happens to be one of them.

10 times out of 10, a customer who refuses to make changes, who refuses to think positively about their new lifestyle, who refuses to take products consistently, who looks at all the wrong things and the bad things and the things that didnt go right, will fail in their journey. And the scale is just their indicator that they are right, that nothing works.

What does this mean in terms of science and formulas? Well I suppose it means the most magical formula on earth, is the one you believe in. And the most successful product on earth that works for millions wont work for anyone who continues to believe that nothing works. When everything is working together, including magnificent TruVision Weight Loss products as tools, success WILL occur.

Happiness depends on ourselves.

-Aristotle

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Positive Mental Attitude - The Formula For Success

The initiatives of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution offer a context and container for connecting and empowering the vast global movement arising for positive change, making the efforts of this movement visible to engender greater coherence and synergy. We work on the premise that small islands of coherence in a sea of social chaos can jump the system as a whole to a higher degree of harmony and order.By connecting and communicating whats working, positive and innovative, the Foundation for Conscious Evolution is helping to build a new patha golden bridgeto the next stage of human evolution. On that path, we look beyond the current confusion and crises to see the new capacities that are arising. We hold our unprecedented power as the means for restoring the earth, freeing ourselves from illness, hunger and war, and fulfilling the deepest aspirations of the human heart. We envision humanity arising to cocreate a future equal to our vast potential.Our VisionThe ultimate goal of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution is the awakening of the spiritual, social, and scientific potential of humanity, in harmony with nature for the highest good of all life.Our Mission To educate people in the worldview of Conscious Evolution and how to apply it in their lives, personally and socially. To network, connect and align individuals and groups, making visible the vast movement for positive change that is arising everywhere, and to further cooperate toward our common goal of a compassionate, sustainable future.

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The Rec Class Martial Arts program includes classes in 25 traditional art forms derived from Brazil, China, Japan, Korea as well as more modern hybrid arts that bring a more Western approach to the martial arts practices. There are also a number of martial arts that are competitive in nature and represent UCSD in collegiate tournaments and events, which are housed under the moniker of "Combatives Teams".

Learn the fundamentals of The Way of Harmony or increase your knowledge of this sensible model of dealing with conflict. Improve your focus of centering yourself and quick response while learning the important aspects of defending yourself.Class Policies

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Learn the fundamentals or improve upon your own abilities to effectively utilize these ground fighting and grappling methods. Increase your knowledge of self-defense by practicing chokes, arm locks, shoulder wrenches and much more!Class Policies

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Learn the fundamentals or improve your abilities in this eclectic Korean martial art. Increase your ability to kick, punch and throw while having fun in this friendly environment.Class Policies

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Learn the basics or increase your skills in this art of Japanese swordsmanship. Become skilled in wielding your sword while also learning the ways of this historic self-defense.Class Policies

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Learn the basics or increase your skills in this martial art and Olympic sport. Learn the principle of flexibility in the application of throwing, grappling, falling and submission techniques.Class Policies

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Introduce aspects of this martial art or improve upon existing skills while learning the ways of this ancient method of self-defense. Increase your self-discipline and body-strength while learning grappling techniques and hand-to-hand combat.Class Policies

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Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand, is known for its direct applications of elbows and knees. Classes will include boxing, kicking, as well as defensive techniques. Throws and trips will be covered; conditioning will be a primary focus.Class Policies

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Learn the aspects of this stylized Chinese martial art or improve upon existing skills. Increase your ability to focus on the art and flow of energy in the body while also learning the purposeful movements of Tai chi.Class Policies

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Martial Arts UCSD Recreation

I am writing this article in response to the challenge made by Generation21stCentury a few weeks ago.

Improvement of self must continue up to the moment of death. So much of what has been written here is based on the driving need of young men to develop their skills in order to achieve their goals. Those goals usually include sex with many quality girls, material wealth to enjoy living, and free time to pursue a variety of interests. These are excellent choices and I encourage you to pursue them. This article will show that in most conventionally successful lives there are opportunities for improvement.

I am a 47 year old engineer and project manager. I have worked on industrial mining construction projects all over the world. I owe no money to anyone. I have been married a long time. My five children are almost grown and some are living on their own.

A few years ago I noticed that my few remaining friends in this world were getting divorced. Their reasons were utterly diverse. The end result was always bitter ex-wives, angry ex-husbands, and weeping children. I started looking for reasons and I did not find anything that made sense to me.

I am a farm boy, ex-military, march or die kind of guy. I am acknowledged in my corner of the industry for being that bastard that can turn a construction project profitable if you can stomach the methods. I can make you cry, fire your ass with a smile, and forget your name the moment you are gone. My only regret at the end of most projects is that I wasnt more of a hard-ass. In short, empirical methods that work are king. The final arbiter of success is the scoreboard. Nothing else matters.

Nothing that my conventional Catholic society had to say about divorce made any sense to me, and this filled me with concern. I like my family the way it is. What if there was something I could do to prevent what was happening to everyone I knew from happening to me?

Then, one bitterly cold day at the end of a gloomy November, one of my colleagues rigged up a helium suicide device and killed himself. He was one of the few men I could trust with fire and forget delegation. If he said, Ill handle it, I trusted him. He had worked for me for years and had a promising career. I was the last person he talked to on his cell phone, and in his note he mentioned that he was afraid he would disappoint me by quitting early.

This guy was tall, good-looking, fit, and well off. No bad habits. He vacationed in Brazil, scuba-dived wrecks in the Caribbean, travelled the world, lived alone in a nice apartment, and had everything he wanted when he wanted it. We tried to drink his booze cabinet dry during his wake and we, two dozen men from the heavy mining construction industry, failed. Why did he check out early? Was it somehow related to the other shattering changes my acquaintances were going through, such as the divorces?

His suicide got me thinking and I decided to dig into alternative resources. I broadened my search for information and discovered the corner of the web that this site is part of. Many issues started making sense to me. Why did so many other mens marriages fail when mine was staying strong? Here is why:

I understand that the legal system makes her totally independent and that she can access my income whether I will it or no. But I am the kind of man that she can never replace and thus her hypergamy is satiated. Early in our relationship (before and after we were married) there were several moments where I point-blank told her to comply with my wishes or leave my home. She complied. She is also well aware that I am a vindictive prick that will go to almost any lengths to ensure my will is done. So that makes sense.

But why did my buddy check out? God only knows. I speculate that he felt like a failure for not having a wife and children. He was so blue pill that he felt life-ending grade shame for not being able to sacrifice his life to a woman. He had told me and others several times that he wished he could find a wife and have children. He was awkward with women. Despite all of his advantages, he could not get laid in a whorehouse. So he killed himself rather than keep facing that failure.

The world is actually kind of a big place. And we are very small.

I am what you folks refer to as a blue pill man, an AFC, if you will. I have only made love to a few women when I was younger and now only to my wife. I have little desire to have sex with many different women, my material wants are satisfied, and I have the resources to enjoy my free time. So what does the red pill do for a fellow like me?

My life was not all a bed of roses. I had very few friends. I worked hard for other people. I struggled with erectile dysfunction. My wife had a pretty face I loved, but a chubby body I was not attracted to. I volunteered for churches and other organizations. I accepted these things, even though they made me quite angry, because I thought they were correct. I had been taught, and I accepted, that it was right and proper that I suffer and others benefit, and that I should suffer silently and accept my lot.

What the red pill does is make a fellow go, Well. Fuck that noise.

I thought about what I wanted. I thought about a friend who ended his life rather than face blue pill failure. I thought about missed opportunities and a wasted youth. I thought about a life of ongoing slavery ending in forgetful silence. What did I really want? And I applied my problem solving skills and intelligence to the issue of what I want:

I set out to achieve all of these things two years ago. Most of it is finished. I quit my job, started consulting, and tripled my income. I sold my house and most of my junk and we live in a smaller, cheaper, and less time-consuming apartment. I purchased an airplane and started flying to interesting places regularly again. I started running and lifting weights and am now in the best shape of my life. I moved to a more centrally located city and stopped spending time withparasites. I set my wife up with a personal trainer, go to the fitness classes with her, and now enjoy how she looks. She learned about healthy cooking, we started eating cleaner, and are reaping the benefits. I work less, have far less stress, and I travel regularly to stay in touch with old friends. My dick works much better. My wife is happy. Her eyes shine as she hesitantly caresses my arm and looks up at me with shy pride.

I took a life that was focussed on working for other people and via self-improvement aimed it at working for myself. I have no regrets whatever. Everyone is better off, not just me, but I am the purpose of my life now. I find more information every day that provides me with opportunities to improve.

You young men learn about the red pill, bang the hotties, have fun, and God bless you for doing it. I cannot and will not compete in that arena. I yield that ground. I will take my place in the stands and applaud your victories.

Im going over there now.

You older men need this. Make your life better. Reject a life of thankless servitude and focus on what you want, while you can. Your life may not be perfect, but you can always make itbetter.

Read More: Average Never Got Anyone Anywhere

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Self-Improvement Is Not Just For Young Guys Return Of Kings

The Enlightenment was crucial in determining almost every aspect of colonial America, most notably in terms of politics, government, and religion. Without the central ideas and figures of the Enlightenment, the United States would have been drastically different since these concepts shaped the country in its formative years. Both during and after the American Revolution many of the core ideas of the Enlightenment were the basis for monumental tracts such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Concepts such as freedom from oppression, natural rights, and new ways of thinking about governmental structure came straight from Enlightenment philosophers such as Locke and forged the foundations for both colonial and modern America. All aspects of life, even religion, were affected by the Enlightenment and many key figures from American history such as Thomas Jefferson were greatly influenced by the movement.

Another way that the Enlightenment helped to shape the colonies was in terms of religion. With the Great Awakening came a new understanding of Americas early relationship to God and the Church. Instead of one all-powerful church that almost required membership, Protestant ideals based on Enlightenment principles of free will and freedom from institutions allowed people to choose membership in a church rather than be forced into one. Although during the Enlightenment there was a very secular focus, in America this was not the case. The colonies were still very religious but they used the ideas of their freedom to choose that were based on the Enlightenment. Instead of being tied to one religious authority, there were many choices in the colonies and people had a right to choose how to establish and maintain their connection to God.

Key figures in the founding of the United States such as Thomas Jefferson were greatly influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment which meant that the country was as well. Jefferson was a perfect man of the Enlightenment as he was both classically educated and trained in the humanities as well as very practical and empirical. As the author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson shaped the country by solidifying the ideas of natural rights in terms of government and religion. In addition, he understood the importance of education in making these ideals work in the new nation and founded the University of Virginia. In many ways, Jefferson represents the way Enlightenment ideals could be put into practice in the new colonies. Other men, such as Benjamin Franklin for example, were similar and since they had such a hand in formulating many of the institutions and tracts the country is based on, their Enlightenment ideas live on

Without the Enlightenment as the philosophical basis of this country, one can only imagine how different would be today. Important guarantees of human and natural rights, expressions of freedom and the rights of citizens to have free choice and practice religious freedom are all vital aspects in America still. Locke, Newton, and other Enlightenment thinkers put forth ideas about liberty and personal will that went on to be key aspects in the most important documents in America such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Other articles in the History Archives that are related to this topic include: A Comparison of the French Revolution and American Revolution The Influence of the Renaissance on Modern American Society Marx and Locke: Comparison of Views on Government, Property and Labor Puritan Influences on Modern American Culture and Thought Common Themes in Romanticism, The Enlightenment, and the Renaissance

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The competition to produce inexpensive meat, eggs, and dairy products has led animal agribusiness to treat animals as objects and commodities. The worldwide trend is to replace small family farms with factory farmslarge warehouses where animals are confined in crowded cages or restrictive pens.

If the anti-cruelty laws that protect pets were applied to farmed animals, many of the most routine U.S. farming practices would be illegal in all 50 states.

Peter Cheeke, PhD, Oregon State University Professor of Animal Agriculture, Contemporary Issues in Animal Agriculture, 2004 textbook

According to Professor Bernard E. Rollin: [I]ndividual animals may produce, for example, gain weight, in part because they are immobile, yet suffer because of the inability to move. In the case of battery-cage egg production, Rollin explains that though each hen is less productive when crowded, the operation as a whole makes more money with a high stocking density: chickens are cheap, cages are expensive.

In an article in favor of cutting the space per pig from 8 to 6 square feet, industry journal National Hog Farmer advises that Crowding pigs pays.

The Economist, What Humans Owe to Animals, 8/19/95

In the United States, virtually all birds raised for food are factory farmed. Inside the densely populated sheds, vast amounts of waste accumulate. The resulting ammonia levels commonly cause painful burns to the birds skin, eyes, and respiratory tracts.

Peter Cheeke, PhD, Contemporary Issues in Animal Agriculture, 2004 textbook

Todays broiler reaches market weight in about one third the time it took the traditional broiler. This rapid growth rate has been accompanied by an increasingly high incidence of conditions that cause suffering, such as ascites and painful skeletal deformities. According to Professor John Webster of the University of Bristols School of Veterinary Science, Broilers are the only livestock that are in chronic pain for the last 20% of their lives. In order to avoid problems of reproduction and lameness associated with obesity, broilers used for breeding are severely feed restricted.

Bernard E. Rollin, PhD, Farm Animal Welfare, Iowa State University Press, 2003

Packed in cages (usually less than half a square foot of floor space per bird), hens can become immobilized and die of asphyxiation or dehydration. Decomposing corpses are found in cages with live birds.

To cut losses from birds pecking each other, farmers remove a third to a half of the beak from egg-laying hens, breeding chickens, and most turkeys and ducks. Without pain relief, the beak is partially amputated with a heated blade; or the end is damaged with a laser, infrared beam, or powerful electric spark and sloughs off days later. The birds suffer severe pain for weeks. Some, unable to eat afterwards, starve.

Each week, hundreds of thousands of laying hens die on U.S. farms. Most endure one to two years of battery-cage confinement before theyre disposed of as spent hens.

By the time their egg production declines, the birds skeletons are so fragile that many suffer broken bones as theyre removed from the cages. Hens who are transported to slaughter often endure long journeys and sustain further injuries. Flocks killed on-site are gassed, rendered, composted, or destroyed by other means (for example, on two California farms, workers fed 30,000 live hens into wood chippers).

Male chicks, of no economic value to the egg industry, are typically macerated (ground up alive) or gassed. In some cases, they are simply thrown into garbage bags alive, as depicted in the picture below of chicks dead and dying in a dumpster behind a hatchery.

Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Albert Einstein, letter dated 1950, quoted in H. Eves Mathematical Circles Adieu, 1977

In the September 1976 issue of the trade journal Hog Farm Management, John Byrnes suggested, Forget the pig is an animal. Treat him just like a machine in a factory.

Over 30 years later, National Pork Producers Council spokesperson Dave Warner showed dismay at the idea that pigs should be given more space:

So our animals cant turn around for the 2.5 years that they are in the stalls producing piglets. I dont know who asked the sow if she wanted to turn around.

Theres a schizoid quality to our relationship with animals, in which sentiment and brutality exist side by side. Half the dogs in America will receive Christmas presents this year, yet few of us pause to consider the miserable life of the pigan animal easily as intelligent as a dogthat becomes the Christmas ham.

Michael Pollan, An Animals Place, The New York Times Magazine, 11/10/02

Morley Safer described on 60 Minutes:

This [movie Babe] is the way Americans want to think of pigs. Real-life Babes see no sun in their limited lives, with no hay to lie on, no mud to roll in. The sows live in tiny cages, so narrow they cant even turn around. They live over metal grates, and their waste is pushed through slats beneath them and flushed into huge pits.

On September 17, 2008, the Associated Press reported on a cruelty investigation performed by PETA at a pig farm in Iowa. The report stated in part:

The video, shot by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, shows farm workers hitting sows with metal rods, slamming piglets on a concrete floor and bragging about jamming rods into sows hindquarters

At one point in the video, workers are shown slamming piglets on the ground, a practice designed to instantly kill those baby pigs that arent healthy enough. But on the video, the piglets are not killed instantly, and in a bloodied pile, some piglets can be seen wiggling vainly. The video also shows piglets being castrated, and having their tails cut off, without anesthesia.

To visit a modern CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) is to enter a world that, for all its technological sophistication, is still designed according to Cartesian principles: animals are machines incapable of feeling pain. Since no thinking person can possibly believe this any more, industrial animal agriculture depends on a suspension of disbelief on the part of the people who operate it and a willingness to avert your eyes on the part of everyone else.

More than any other institution, the American industrial animal farm offers a nightmarish glimpse of what capitalism can look like in the absence of moral or regulatory constraint. Here in these places life itself is redefinedas protein productionand with it suffering. That venerable word becomes stress, an economic problem in search of a cost-effective solution, like tail-docking or beak-clipping or, in the industrys latest plan, by simply engineering the stress gene out of pigs and chickens. Our own worst nightmare such a place may well be; it is also real life for the billions of animals unlucky enough to have been born beneath these grim steel roofs, into the brief, pitiless life of a production unit in the days before the suffering gene was found.

Michael Pollan, An Animals Place, The New York Times Magazine, 11/10/02

For many people, dairy farming conjures up images of small herds of cows leisurely grazing on open pastures. Although scenes like this still exist in the United States, most milk is produced by cows raised in intensive production systems. Some cows are housed indoors year-round, and lactating cows are often kept restrained in tie stalls or stanchions.

From 1940 to 2016, average per-cow milk production rose from 2 to 11 tons per year; some cows have surpassed 36 tons. High milk yields often causes udder breakdown, leading to early slaughter.

Although they dont reach mature size until at least 4 years old, dairy cows first give birth at about 2 years of age and are usually bred again beginning at about 60 days after giving birth, to maintain a yearly schedule. It is unprofitable to keep dairy cows alive once their milk production declines. Each year, approximately one quarter of the cows who survive the farms are sent to slaughter, most often due to reproductive problems or mastitis. Cows can live more than 20 years, however theyre usually slaughtered and used to produce ground beef at about 5 years of age, after roughly 2.5 lactations.

On the majority of dairy farms, calves are separated from their mothers within 12 hours of birth. The males are mainly sold for veal or castrated and raised for beef. Bob veal calves are killed as soon as a few days after birth; those used to produce special-fed veal are typically kept tethered in individual stalls until slaughtered at about 16 to 20 weeks of age. The female calves are commonly subjected to tail docking, dehorning, and the removal of extra teats. Most are kept in individual hutches or pens, often outdoors or in an unheated barn, and fed colostrum, then saleable or unsaleable/waste milk or a milk replacer until weaned, typically at about 9 weeks of age. Pneumonia and digestive disorders are the most common causes of death among female calves who survive beyond 48 hours but die before weaning.

Historically, man has expanded the reach of his ethical calculations, as ignorance and want have receded, first beyond family and tribe, later beyond religion, race, and nation. To bring other species more fully into the range of these decisions may seem unthinkable to moderate opinion now. One day, decades or centuries hence, it may seem no more than civilized behavior requires.

The Economist, What Humans Owe to Animals, 8/19/95

The term downer refers to an animal who is too injured, weak, or sick to stand and walk. The exact number of downer cattle on U.S. farms or feedlots or sent to slaughter facilities is difficult to ascertain, but estimates approach 500,000 animals per year; most are dairy cows. Complications associated with calving and injuries from slipping and falling are leading causes.

Evidence revealing widespread mistreatment of downer dairy cows hit the news in January 2008, when the Humane Society of the United States released footage from its undercover investigation of a California slaughter plant that supplied beef for the nations school lunch program:

In the video, workers are seen kicking cows, ramming them with the blades of a forklift, jabbing them in the eyes, applying painful electrical shocks and even torturing them with a hose and water in attempts to force sick or injured animals to walk to slaughter.

Temple Grandin, a renowned expert on animal agriculture and professor at Colorado State University, called the images captured in the investigation one of the worst animal abuse videos I have ever viewed.

See the HSUS report and video, and this Washington Post article; also HSUSs 2009 investigation of a dairy calf slaughter plant in Vermont.

A downed dairy cow. (Photo: Farm Sanctuary)

Before animals are slaughtered, they must be transported to the slaughterhouse. In the case of cows or steers, they are typically taken to a stockyard first, where they are auctioned off.

On the trucks, birds, pigs, sheep, or cows are crammed together. Mammals must stand in a slurry of urine, feces, and vomit; those who fall and cant get up may be trampled or suffocate.

The slatted trucks expose the animals to extreme temperatures. Some may suffer dehydration or frostbite, or become frozen to the trailers or cages.

Hot weather and humidity are deadly to pigs. Approximately 200,000 pigs die on their way to slaughter every year in the United States.

Like this bull I had last yearthis bull was one of the biggest bulls Ive ever seen. It was at the very front of the trailer. And the spirit it had, he was just trying his hardest to get off the trailer. He had been prodded to death by three or four driversbut his back legs, his hips have given out. And so basically they just keep prodding it. So it took about 45 minutes to get it from the front nose of the trailer to the back ramp.

Then from there it was chained with its front legs, and it fell off the ramp, smashed onto the floor, which I dont know how many feet that would be but quite a racketI just said, Why dont you shoot the damn thing? Whats going on? What about this Code of Ethics?

This one guy said, I never shoot. Why would I shoot a cow that can come off and theres still good meat there? When I first started, I talked to another trucker about downers. He said, You may as well not get upset. Its been going on for many years. It will go on for the rest of my life and your life. So just calm down about it. It happens. Youll get kind of bitter like I did. You just dont think about the animals. You just think that they arent feeling or whatever.

interview with a Canadian livestock trucker from A Cow at My Table, 1998 documentary

At Bushway, a calf slaughtering facility in Vermont, newborn male calves are typically brought in at one to seven days old. They are often trucked from long distances away, 10 or 12 hours or more, and they often arrive injured, weak and dehydrated. As a result, calves may arrive downed and unable to get up.

I witnessed animal handlers at Bushway grab a downed calf by a hind leg and drag him down an unloading ramp. Another calf was dragged through the holding pens. Dragging any non-ambulatory animal is against regulations. During another delivery, a handler swore at a downed calf and threw him off the second tier of the hauling trailer like a football.

Calves arriving at Bushway after slaughter hours were destined to spend yet another 1218 hours without food, when already they had been deprived of sustenance for perhaps days, since they were usually removed from their mothers immediately after birth. Sometimes calves are held overnight and it always broke my heart that employees would carry the bodies of these dead baby calves out of the pen because they died of dehydration and starvation.

A deadpile of pigs. (Photo: PETA)

Animals who survive the farms and transportwhether factory-farmed or free-rangeare slaughtered.

In the slaughterhouse, the animals can typically smell, hear, and often see the slaughter of those before them. As they struggle, theyre often abused by frustrated workers, who are under constant pressure to keep the lines moving at rapid speeds.

Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals & Legislation, 1789

The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, a federal law, requires mammals (other than rabbits) be stunned prior to slaughter (exempting religious slaughter). Typically, electric current is used to induce a heart attack and/or seizure; or a captive bolt gun is used to deliver a blow to the skull or shoot a rod into the animals brain.

Its not uncommon for an animal to suffer one or two failed stuns. In the case of a failed electrical stun, an animal may be paralyzed without losing sensibility. Unconscious animals whose necks are not cut soon enough may regain their senses after being hung on the bleed rail.

The Washington Post reported that, Hogs, unlike cattle, are dunked in tanks of hot water after they are stunned to soften the hides for skinning. As a result, a botched slaughter condemns some hogs to being scalded and drowned. Secret videotape from an Iowa pork plant shows hogs squealing and kicking as they are being lowered into the water.

You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fate, The Conduct of Life, 1860

During religious slaughter, such as kosher and halal, animals are usually fully conscious as their throats are cut. This is supposed to induce rapid loss of consciousness. However, in a study of cattle at five kosher slaughter plants in several different countries, the timefrom the end of the cut until the eyes rolled back and the cow started to collapseranged from 8 to 120 seconds. Some cattle may have prolonged periods of sensibility lasting up to 385 seconds.

Animals are Gods creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in Gods sight.

Rev. Andrew Linzey, Oxford University, Animal Theology, 1995

Undercover videos taken by PETA between 2004 and 2008 at two U.S. kosher slaughterhouses revealed workers ripping the tracheas and esophagi from the throats of fully conscious cattle after the ritual cut; some of the animals are shown writhing in pools of blood, struggling to stand for minutes afterwards.

In Thinking in Pictures, Dr. Temple Grandin describes the shackle and hoist method of ritual slaughter:

Prior to slaughter, live cattle were hung upside down by a chain attached to one back leg. It was so horrible I could not stand to watch it. The frantic bellows of terrified cattle could be heard in both the office and the parking lot. Sometimes an animals back leg was broken during hoisting.

The shackle and hoist procedure can be seen in PETAs December 2009 video footage of a South American plant that supplies kosher meat to the United States.

See also: If This Is Kosher video; shechita photos.

Do we, as humans, having an ability to reason and to communicate abstract ideas verbally and in writing, and to form ethical and moral judgments using the accumulated knowledge of the ages, have the right to take the lives of other sentient organisms, particularly when we are not forced to do so by hunger or dietary need, but rather do so for the somewhat frivolous reason that we like the taste of meat?

In essence, should we know better?

Peter Cheeke, PhD, Oregon State University Professor of Animal Agriculture, Contemporary Issues in Animal Agriculture, 2004 textbook

Over 95 percent of U.S. land animals killed for food are birds, yet they are exempt from the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and there is no federal law requiring they be handled humanely. To facilitate automated slaughter, birds are usually immobilized via electrical stunning. Hanging in shackles, the birds heads are passed through an electrified water bath.

It is not known whether this renders them unconscious, and the potential for birds suffering severely painful pre-stun shocks is difficult to eliminate. Each year, several hundred thousand chickens and turkeys reach the scalding tanks alive.

In 2015, the Humane Society of the United States released a video documenting the scalding of live hens, forced upside down into tanks of scorching hot water in which they drown. Watch the video below.

Turkeys enter the slaughter area, hanging shackled by their legs. The pain birds suffer from shackling can be extreme and inevitably causes violent wing flapping, which may result in dislocated joints and broken bones. Due to their wingspan, turkeys are prone to intensely painful pre-stun shocks.

In January of 2007, a Mercy For Animals investigator took a job in North Carolina at one of the nations largest poultry slaughterhouses to witness the conditions firsthand: Birds with broken legs and wings, open wounds, and large tumors were shackled and hung on the slaughter line; some of the injured were left writhing on the floor for hours beforehand. Workers punched, kicked, threw, and mutilated live birds; they tore eggs from the birds cloacae to toss at coworkers, and ripped the heads off birds who were trapped inside the transport cages.

A year later, PETA released footage of two other large plants, in Tennessee and Georgia, where many conscious birds were mangled by the killing machines or had their heads yanked off by workers. PETAs 2005 investigation of an Alabama plant, also found the neck-cutting machines routinely missed, slicing open the chickens wings, faces, and other body parts; numerous birds entered the scalding tanks for feather removal while fully conscious. The three facilities were owned by Tyson, a leading supplier to KFC.

Between October 2003 and May 2004, an undercover PETA investigator captured footage at a Pilgrims Pride chicken slaughterhouse in West Virginia. Workers were filmed violently and repeatedly throwing live chickens into a wall, picking chickens up by their legs and swinging their heads into the floor, and kicking and jumping up and down on live chickens. According to a New York Times article on the investigation, this plant had previously received KFCs Supplier of the Year award.

Below are two of the many chickens whose bodies were sliced open by the killing machines at the Alabama plant investigated by PETA in 2005.

On March 4, 2010, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on the Continuing Problems in the USDAs Enforcement of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Stan Painter, who served as a Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspector for more than 24 years and has been chairman of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Local Unions for over 6 years, testified:

The agency claimed that there was a full complement of staffing at Hallmark/Westland when that situation came to light, yet the facility management was able to game the system and abused animals in order to squeeze every last penny for the bottom line. There are some slaughter facilities in this country that are processing cattle at 390 head per hour and hogs at 1106 head per hour. At that rate of production, we would need to increase the number of inspectors assigned to be able to enforce all of laws and regulations adequately

We are also hamstrung by our supervisors who are either not qualified to do their jobs, unwilling to let us do our jobs, or who are not committed to making animal welfare a priorityeither in FSIS-regulated facilities or in their private lives.

True human goodness, in all its purity and freedom, can come to the fore only when its recipient has no power.

Humanitys true moral test, its fundamental test (which lies deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.

And in this respect humankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it.

Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, 1984

Dr. Dean Wyatt, an FSIS supervisory public health veterinarian for over 18 years, provided a statement citing several examples of the violations he observedat both Bushway and Seaboard Farms, a large pig slaughterhouse in Oklahomaand the struggles he endured trying to enforce the law:

When upper-level FSIS management looks the other way as food safety or humane slaughter laws are broken, or, as has been my experience, retaliates against people who are enforcing those laws, then management is just as guilty for breaking those laws as are the establishments. The laws are there. The enforcement of those lawsin my experiencehas not been there and, in fact, has been willfully ignored by well-paid public officials.

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