Disengagement is the use of mental tricks to feel less uncomfortable when confronted with cognitive dissonance. Those confronted with the “meat paradox” — eating meat while claiming to love animals — sometimes employ direct disengagement tactics where they actively justify their meat consumption. Some of these tactics include claiming that animals cannot feel pain, that they don’t possess intelligence or sentience, and calling meat consumption “normal, natural, necessary, or nice.” Read full article here
Research
Researcher uses AI to make texts that are thousands of years old readable
The Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest work of world literature, has been brought back to life by LMU researchers in the Electronic Babylonian Literature project. Using their new Fragmentarium tool, they have discovered hundreds of manuscripts, including the most recent tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic which dates from 130 BC – thousands of years after the earliest known version. This shows how highly valued the Epic was, even at a late period. With the public release of the Fragmentarium, anyone can now explore the thousands of cuneiform fragments and explore the ancient Babylonian literature. Read full article here
Merv
March 12, 2023
