The Puzzle of the Conflicted Carnivore

Lucy Mayne

Abstract: Many people, including many philosophers, think eating meat is morally bad and/or morally wrong. Many of these same people also regularly eat meat. I will argue that this disconnect between judgement and action cannot be explained by weakness of will or the prioritisation of aesthetic pleasures, as such explanations cannot explain the disparity between behaviour in this case and other cases where these people do act in accordance with their moral judgements. I will further argue that the role of social norms in shaping not just behaviour but also moral judgements offers a deeper explanation of this phenomenon.