Born 974AD. Blind academic, poet. Vegan and Skeptic. "You are diseased in understanding and religion. Come to me, that you may hear something of sound truth. Do not unjustly eat fish the water has given up, and do not desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals, Or the white milk of mothers who intended its pure draught for their young, not for noble ladies. And do not grieve the unsuspecting birds by taking their eggs; for injustice is the worst of crimes. And spare the honey which the bees get industriously from the flowers of fragrant plants; For they did not store it that it might belong to others, nor did they gather it for bounty and gifts. I washed my hands of all this; and wish that I had perceived my way before my hair went gray!"
Anonymous :
1 day ago :
No.12711
>>12712
>>12711
no problem and don't apologise for tangents. My parents didn't justify consumption of animal products by citing religion but rather inconvenience, which might be more fucked up lol. I seriously believe that most people don't go vegan for this very reason whatever else they might assert. dairy especially is in everything
Unbelievably based, thanks for sharing. I love the sublime feeling one gets when they read something from the past that not only resonates today but seems to echo 1:1 issues and assumptions we think are "modern".
>For they did not store it that it might belong to others, nor did they gather it for bounty and gifts.
When I was a tween and started to object to eating meat I heard from relatives and others the following explanation: "God put animals on the Earth for humans to consume". Even at the time it struck me as a bone-headed "just-so" justification for something that everyone knew was kind of wrong but continued anyway. Now of course I have the rhetoric and vocabulary to describe that layman understanding and usage of religion to explain "how things are". Anyway, sorry for the tangent.
>>12711
Unbelievably based, thanks for sharing. I love the sublime feeling one gets when they read something from the past that not only resonates today but seems to echo 1:1 issues and assumptions we think are "modern".
>For they did not store it that it might belong to others, nor did they gather it for bounty and gifts.
When I was a tween and started to object to eating meat I heard from relatives and others the following explanation: "God put animals on the Earth for humans to consume". Even at the time it struck me as a bone-headed "just-so" justification for something that everyone knew was kind of wrong but continued anyway. Now of course I have the rhetoric and vocabulary to describe that layman understanding and usage of religion to explain "how things are". Anyway, sorry for the tangent.
no problem and don't apologise for tangents. My parents didn't justify consumption of animal products by citing religion but rather inconvenience, which might be more fucked up lol. I seriously believe that most people don't go vegan for this very reason whatever else they might assert. dairy especially is in everything
Very interesting post. I always considered the refusal to even eat honey to be a ridiculous purity signal by contemporary vegans but it's interesting to see that someone else derived the same proscription in an entirely different context.
Another fire post, we've been blessed recently. Gotta get back to cutting down on meat consumption.
Fascinating quote.
I myself am a meat eater,but I do respect the commitments that he made towards his own beliefs.
Anonymous :
10 hours ago :
No.12734
>>12736
>>12734
>Advocated for the strict seclusion of women, against teaching women to read and write.
>he's just like me
Anon, what?
>>12740>>12734
>an otherwise highly progressive figure from the past is very misogynistic
more at 11
> Born in the city of al-Ma'arra (present-day Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, Syria) during the later Abbasid era, he became blind at a young age from smallpox but nonetheless studied in nearby Aleppo, then in Tripoli and Antioch. Producing popular poems in Baghdad, he refused to sell his texts. In 1010, he returned to Syria after his mother began declining in health, and continued writing, which gained him local respect.
> Described by various scholars as a "pessimistic freethinker", al-Ma'arri was a controversial rationalist of his time, known for challenging superstition and dogmatism. His written works exhibit a fixation on the study of language and its historical development, known as philology. He was pessimistic about life, describing himself as "a double prisoner" of blindness and isolation. Because his poetry fiercely critiqued the religious practices of his era, several critics interpreted his work as an attack on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Zoroastrianism, with some historians asserting he became a deist. However, in response to contemporary accusations of heresy stemming from these poetic critiques, al-Ma'arri authored Zajr al-Nabeh. In this text, he explicitly denied holding atheistic or anti-Islamic beliefs, clarifying that his verses targeted the corruption, hypocrisy, and ignorance of religious figures rather than the core tenets of the faith itself.
> He advocated social justice and lived a secluded, ascetic lifestyle. He was a vegan, known in his time as a moral vegetarian, entreating: "Do not desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals / Or the white milk of mothers who intended its pure draught for their young."[11] Al-Ma'arri held an antinatalist outlook, in line with his general pessimism, suggesting that children should not be born to spare them of the pains and suffering of life. Saqt az-Zand, Luzumiyat, and Risalat al-Ghufran are among his main works.
> Consistent with his pervasive pessimism, al-Ma'arri harbored a deep skepticism regarding gender relations and advocated for the strict seclusion of women. As analyzed by the Egyptian scholar Taha Hussein, al-Ma'arri advised against teaching women to read or write to shelter them from societal corruption, and controversially argued that the Hajj pilgrimage should not be obligatory for them.
Oh man… he’s just like me except blind and Muslim.
reddit philosopher sorry bruh
Anonymous :
9 hours ago :
No.12736
>>12737
>>12736
Yeah that was the part I meant that was just like me.
>>12734
> Born in the city of al-Ma'arra (present-day Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, Syria) during the later Abbasid era, he became blind at a young age from smallpox but nonetheless studied in nearby Aleppo, then in Tripoli and Antioch. Producing popular poems in Baghdad, he refused to sell his texts. In 1010, he returned to Syria after his mother began declining in health, and continued writing, which gained him local respect.
> Described by various scholars as a "pessimistic freethinker", al-Ma'arri was a controversial rationalist of his time, known for challenging superstition and dogmatism. His written works exhibit a fixation on the study of language and its historical development, known as philology. He was pessimistic about life, describing himself as "a double prisoner" of blindness and isolation. Because his poetry fiercely critiqued the religious practices of his era, several critics interpreted his work as an attack on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Zoroastrianism, with some historians asserting he became a deist. However, in response to contemporary accusations of heresy stemming from these poetic critiques, al-Ma'arri authored Zajr al-Nabeh. In this text, he explicitly denied holding atheistic or anti-Islamic beliefs, clarifying that his verses targeted the corruption, hypocrisy, and ignorance of religious figures rather than the core tenets of the faith itself.
> He advocated social justice and lived a secluded, ascetic lifestyle. He was a vegan, known in his time as a moral vegetarian, entreating: "Do not desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals / Or the white milk of mothers who intended its pure draught for their young."[11] Al-Ma'arri held an antinatalist outlook, in line with his general pessimism, suggesting that children should not be born to spare them of the pains and suffering of life. Saqt az-Zand, Luzumiyat, and Risalat al-Ghufran are among his main works.
> Consistent with his pervasive pessimism, al-Ma'arri harbored a deep skepticism regarding gender relations and advocated for the strict seclusion of women. As analyzed by the Egyptian scholar Taha Hussein, al-Ma'arri advised against teaching women to read or write to shelter them from societal corruption, and controversially argued that the Hajj pilgrimage should not be obligatory for them.
Oh man… he’s just like me except blind and Muslim.
>Advocated for the strict seclusion of women, against teaching women to read and write.
>he's just like me
Anon, what?
I know for a fact that eating factory farm meat is evil but I keep eating it, why is this?
>>12734
> Born in the city of al-Ma'arra (present-day Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, Syria) during the later Abbasid era, he became blind at a young age from smallpox but nonetheless studied in nearby Aleppo, then in Tripoli and Antioch. Producing popular poems in Baghdad, he refused to sell his texts. In 1010, he returned to Syria after his mother began declining in health, and continued writing, which gained him local respect.
> Described by various scholars as a "pessimistic freethinker", al-Ma'arri was a controversial rationalist of his time, known for challenging superstition and dogmatism. His written works exhibit a fixation on the study of language and its historical development, known as philology. He was pessimistic about life, describing himself as "a double prisoner" of blindness and isolation. Because his poetry fiercely critiqued the religious practices of his era, several critics interpreted his work as an attack on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Zoroastrianism, with some historians asserting he became a deist. However, in response to contemporary accusations of heresy stemming from these poetic critiques, al-Ma'arri authored Zajr al-Nabeh. In this text, he explicitly denied holding atheistic or anti-Islamic beliefs, clarifying that his verses targeted the corruption, hypocrisy, and ignorance of religious figures rather than the core tenets of the faith itself.
> He advocated social justice and lived a secluded, ascetic lifestyle. He was a vegan, known in his time as a moral vegetarian, entreating: "Do not desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals / Or the white milk of mothers who intended its pure draught for their young."[11] Al-Ma'arri held an antinatalist outlook, in line with his general pessimism, suggesting that children should not be born to spare them of the pains and suffering of life. Saqt az-Zand, Luzumiyat, and Risalat al-Ghufran are among his main works.
> Consistent with his pervasive pessimism, al-Ma'arri harbored a deep skepticism regarding gender relations and advocated for the strict seclusion of women. As analyzed by the Egyptian scholar Taha Hussein, al-Ma'arri advised against teaching women to read or write to shelter them from societal corruption, and controversially argued that the Hajj pilgrimage should not be obligatory for them.
Oh man… he’s just like me except blind and Muslim.
>an otherwise highly progressive figure from the past is very misogynistic
more at 11
he was incredibly based, love this quote/poem(?) "O'er many a race the sun's bright net was spread
And loosed their pearls nor left them even a thread.
This dire World delights us, though all sup,
All whom she mothers, from one mortal cup.
A choice of ills: which rather of the twain
Wilt thou?—to perish or to live in pain?"