First, I think you can say "
designed" without wondering
what/
who is/was the
designer. From an
engineering standpoint, we all have our designs and our
design flaws, and it really doesn't matter how we got that way. I would further address the point about
directing our own evolution, but suffice it to say that we can direct to what use we put our
bodies, but I think
nature is working its own
mojo on us from day to day.
Are humans, as animals, meat eaters? We do have quite a wide range of teeth. The incisors are, in my opinion, pretty clear evidence of this, though the issue is not their sharpness. We have top and bottom incisors, and each set is essentially a wedge with a semi-sharp edge. Together with our mandibular strength, these become pretty powerful ripping tools. If Ozzy Osbourne can bite the head off a live bird, I think they're sharp enough to make the point. (BTW: those who argue that human teeth are NOT sharp have clearly never stuck their fingers in a teething baby's mouth--ouch!)
On a different and more compelling front, humans need lysine, a critical amino acid, in order to properly manufacture proteins in our bodies. We can't make lysine on our own--we have to get it from our diet. Guess what? Animal flesh is one of the most important sources of lysine. (Cholesterol--another byproduct of eating animals--is also essential to brain growth in infants and young children. ) Of course, today's vegetarians and vegans can get such things from basic vitamin supplements, and more power to them. The argument that you don't have to eat meat just because you're designed that way is a good one and works for a host of things. But the other argument--that meat tastes so, so very good--is enough for me. Grab yourself a Kansas City tenderloin, throw it on the fire, open a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and enjoy!
Well, this certainly isn't an
argument which is going to fade away any time soon. And this is
OK. Re
Footprints' argument: I agree
wholeheartedly that just because we CAN do a thing, it is not necessarily therefore
moral to do a thing. I can take a knife and stick it into the gut of a random
pedestrian, but
human culture has decided that this is a crime and a
sin. The point about
babies, though designed to
provoke a
visceral reaction, is a little more complicated. It is possible, for example, to make arguments about
perpetuating the species. And as our own children are the
vessels in which we transmit our
genes to
eternity, I suspect there's a built-in reaction against this as well (though stronger in some than in others).