>Sorry for the long-winded nature of this response. But I would like to
>hear David's or others' continued thoughts on utilitarianism, hunting,
>and/or the question, 'is death a harm?'

Hi Jim. I don't know if I can answer if death is a harm in that sense.
However, I do have a comment about what you were saying about suffering.
You made a distinction between physical pain and mental ideas about a
painful situation. If I understood you correctly, you were saying that
"suffering" per se was only possible when there was mental activity present.
Or something like that. Well, I don't have any problem stipulating that for
the sake of the argument. Let us just talk about pain then. And let us
take a deer for instance. I have several members in my family who are
seasonal deer hunters. When I was younger, I actually went on a couple of
hunting trips with my uncle (I would not do such a thing now, at least not
with a weapon). I learned that often, when the deer was shot, it would not
die immediately. It would often run for incredible distances after being
shot. The deer would have to be searched for for hours in some instances.
A blood trail would invariably be used to track the deer, and in some cases
the intestines or other internal organs would also be found along the way.
My intuitive understanding is that this must be an incredibly painful and
stressful few hours for this deer. It is also my intuitive understanding
that the joy or euphoria (if any) that the hunter might feel during this
time (and beyond, if applicable) would not equal the levels of pain and
stress in the deer. Obviously I have not done any experiments to this
effect, and neither have I heard of any. I would be happy to hear if you
have read any literature on this, though I'd be highly suprised to see any
literature negate my intuitive observations. I will end with an aside. I
find it far more acceptable (if not actually acceptable) to hunt in this
manner if the deer is actually cooked and eaten by the hunter and his family
and/or others, which is usually the case (as opposed to the impulsive
slaughter of buffaloes in the old west).

Bryan H.






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