what are they called anyway? "virtue ethicists" seems too cerebral/theoretical... aretaics? aretaists?
This is one of those problems that everybody sees immediately but nobody can do anything about it without more effort than it's worth. We've been called "virtue ethicists" for at least 30 years, and it's sticking.
"Utilitarianism, Deontology, and Virtue Ethics" seems like everybody involved is violating some sort of naming convention. It should be "Utilitarianism, Deontism, and Virtuism" or "Utility Ethics, Deontic Ethics, and Virtue Ethics", or something.
That's a shame. I actually kind of fancied aretaic (used as a noun in the same sense as stoic/Stoic).
I have noticed that among philosophers, vegetarianism of one form or another is quite common. In fact, I became a vegetarian (technically a pescetarian) myself partly out of respect for an undergraduate philosophy professor. I am interested in finding out if there is a similar disproportion in the Less Wrong community.
I didn't request that this go into Yvain's survey because I want more information than just what animal products you do or don't eat; I'd also like to see nuances of the reasons behind your diet. There are a lot more shades than carnivore/vegetarian/vegan - if you want to be a vegetarian but are allergic to soy and gluten, that's a compelling reason to diversify protein sources, for instance. I'd also like to hear about if you avoid any plant foods (if you think they're farmed in a way that's environmentally destructive or that hurts people or if you have warm fuzzy feelings for plants, maybe). Here are some questions that come to mind: