For other people named Peter Singer see Peter Singer (disambiguation).
Peter Albert David Singer
Full name
Peter Albert David Singer
Born
6 July 1946 (1946-07-06) (age 64)
Era
Contemporary philosophy
Region
Western Philosophy
School
Analytic Utilitarianism
Main interests
Ethics
Influenced by
John Stuart Mill Henry Sidgwick
R.M. Hare Jeremy Bentham
Influenced
Peter Unger Colin McGinn
Roger Crisp Dale Jamieson Gregory Pence
Peter Andre's new dating rule!
London, June 14 (IANS) Singer Peter Andre, who has two children with ex-wife Katie Price, says he will only date people who first sign a confidentiality agreement with him.
London, June 14 (IANS) Singer Peter Andre, who has two children with ex-wife Katie Price, says he will only date people who first sign a confidentiality agreement with him.
Peter Singer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira ... In 1989, when Peter Singer attempted to speak during a lecture at ...
Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira ... In 1989, when Peter Singer attempted to speak during a lecture at ...
Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular preference utilitarian perspective.
Peter Andre''s confidentiality agreement for dating
London, June 14 (PTI) Singer Peter Andre wants to date only those girls who are ready to sign a confidentiality agreement so that he doesn''t have to worry about whether or not she will sell their story.The 38-year-old who has two children with ex-wife Katie Price, would like any future girlfriend to agree to a deal so they can''t say anything about him, reported Contactmusic."I said in an ...
London, June 14 (PTI) Singer Peter Andre wants to date only those girls who are ready to sign a confidentiality agreement so that he doesn''t have to worry about whether or not she will sell their story.The 38-year-old who has two children with ex-wife Katie Price, would like any future girlfriend to agree to a deal so they can''t say anything about him, reported Contactmusic."I said in an ...
Peter Singer's Bold Defense of Infanticide
Peter Singer's Bold Defense of Infanticide ... Peter Singer- Introduction. In 1993, ethicist Peter Singer shocked many Americans by suggesting that no newborn should be ...
Peter Singer's Bold Defense of Infanticide ... Peter Singer- Introduction. In 1993, ethicist Peter Singer shocked many Americans by suggesting that no newborn should be ...
He has served on two occasions as chair of philosophy at Monash University where he founded its Centre for Human Bioethics. In 1996 he ran unsuccessfully as a Green candidate for the Australian Senate. In 2004 he was recognised as the Australian Humanist of the Year by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies. He has been voted one of Australia's ten most influential public intellectuals.1 Singer serves on the Advisory Board of Incentives for Global Health the NGO formed to develop the Health Impact Fund proposal.
Peter Andre backs literacy drive
Peter Andre and Boris Johnson have formed an unlikely double act as they got together to promote a reading and literacy project for young children.
Peter Andre and Boris Johnson have formed an unlikely double act as they got together to promote a reading and literacy project for young children.
Peter Singer - Psychology Wiki
Peter Albert David Singer (born July 6, 1946 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian philosopher. He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of ...
Peter Albert David Singer (born July 6, 1946 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian philosopher. He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of ...
Outside academic circles Singer is best known for his book Animal Liberation widely regarded as the touchstone of the animal liberation movement. Not all members of the animal liberation movement share this view and Singer himself has said the media overstates his status. His views on that and other issues in bioethics have attracted attention and a degree of controversy.
Contents
1 Life and career
2 Animal Liberation
3 Applied ethics
3.1 Abortion euthanasia and infanticide
3.2 World poverty
3.3 Other views
3.3.1 Zoophilia
3.3.2 Evolutionary biology and leftist politics
3.3.3 Vegetarianism and ethics of food consumption
3.3.4 Personism
3.4 Criticism of Singer
4 Meta-ethics and foundational issues
5 Publications
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Life and career
Peter Andre seeks ex-girlfriend's help in organising kids' party
London, June 12 : Singer Peter Andre wants his ex-girlfriend Elen Rivas to help him organise a joint birthday party for his children.
London, June 12 : Singer Peter Andre wants his ex-girlfriend Elen Rivas to help him organise a joint birthday party for his children.
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian philosopher. ... The same year, Peter Singer was invited to speak in Marburg at a European symposium on " ...
Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian philosopher. ... The same year, Peter Singer was invited to speak in Marburg at a European symposium on " ...
Singer's parents were Viennese Jews who escaped the German annexation of Austria and fled to Australia in 1938. They settled in Melbourne where Singer was born. His grandparents were less fortunate: his paternal grandparents were taken by the Nazis to d and were never heard from again; his maternal grandfather died in Theresienstadt.2 He has a sister Joan (now Joan Dwyer). Singer's father imported tea and coffee while his mother practiced medicine. He attended Preshil3 and later Scotch College. After leaving school Singer studied law history and philosophy at the University of Melbourne gaining his degree in 1967. He received an MA for a thesis entitled Why should I be moral in 1969. He was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Oxford obtaining a B.Phil in 1971 with a thesis on civil disobedience supervised by R. M. Hare and subsequently published as a book in 1973.4 Singer names Hare and Australian philosopher H. D. McCloskey as his two most important mentors.5
VIDEO: Peter Andre helps in reading scheme
Singer and reality star Peter Andre has joined London's mayor Boris Johnson in a drive to encourage pre-school children to love reading.
Singer and reality star Peter Andre has joined London's mayor Boris Johnson in a drive to encourage pre-school children to love reading.
Peter Singer
Peter Singer is arguably the most influential philosopher in the world today. ... It is no accident that Singer also is one of today's most controversial thinkers. ...
Peter Singer is arguably the most influential philosopher in the world today. ... It is no accident that Singer also is one of today's most controversial thinkers. ...
After spending two years as a Radcliffe lecturer at University College Oxford he was a visiting professor at New York University for 16 months. He returned to Melbourne in 1977 where he spent most of his career aside from appointments as visiting faculty abroad until his move to Princeton in 1999.6 In June 2011 it was announced he would join the professoriate of New College of the Humanities a private college in London in addition to his work at Princeton.7
Animal Liberation
Main article: Animal Liberation (book)
Peter Andre wants ex- girlfriend to organise his kid's B'day parties
Washington, June 11 (ANI): Singer Peter Andre expects his former girlfriend Elen Rivas to help him organise birthday parties for his children, Junior and Tiaamii, with ex-wife Katie Price.
Washington, June 11 (ANI): Singer Peter Andre expects his former girlfriend Elen Rivas to help him organise birthday parties for his children, Junior and Tiaamii, with ex-wife Katie Price.
Peter Singer: books by Peter Singer @ BookFinder.com
Search engine that finds the best buys from among 150 million new, used, rare, and out-of-print books for sale, including books by Peter Singer.
Search engine that finds the best buys from among 150 million new, used, rare, and out-of-print books for sale, including books by Peter Singer.
Published in 1975 Animal Liberation8 has been cited as a formative influence on leaders of the modern animal liberation movement.9 The central argument of the book is an expansion of the utilitarian idea that "the greatest good of the greatest number" is the only measure of good or ethical behaviour. Singer argues that there is no reason not to apply this to other animals. He introduced and popularized the term "speciesism" which was originally coined by Richard D. Ryder to describe the practice of privileging humans over other animals.10
Applied ethics
Part of a series on
Utilitarianism
Predecessors
Epicurus
David Hume William Godwin Francis Hutcheson
People
Jeremy Bentham John Stuart Mill
Henry Sidgwick Richard Mervyn Hare Peter Singer
Types of utilitarianism
Preference Rule Act
Two-level Total Average
Relative Negative Hedonism
Enlightened self-interest
Key concepts
Pain Suffering Pleasure
Utility Happiness Eudaimonia
Consequentialism Felicific calculus
Problems
Mere addition paradox
Paradox of hedonism
Utility monster
Related topics
Rational choice theory Game theory
Social choice Neoclassical economics
Politics portal
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Peter Andre backs literacy drive
Peter Andre and Boris Johnson have formed an unlikely double act as they got together to promote a reading and literacy project for young children. Related Stories Gaga tops Forbes Under 30 rich list Keys taken aback by royal venue Denise: Sheen and I had good times Church and Henson 'barely talk' Sean Bean 'hurt in bar attack'
Peter Andre and Boris Johnson have formed an unlikely double act as they got together to promote a reading and literacy project for young children. Related Stories Gaga tops Forbes Under 30 rich list Keys taken aback by royal venue Denise: Sheen and I had good times Church and Henson 'barely talk' Sean Bean 'hurt in bar attack'
PETER SINGER
Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1946, Peter Singer has been working in the field of " ... Love him or hate him, Peter Singer's influence and ingenuity are undeniable. ...
Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1946, Peter Singer has been working in the field of " ... Love him or hate him, Peter Singer's influence and ingenuity are undeniable. ...
Singer's most comprehensive work Practical Ethics (1979)11 analyzes in detail why and how living beings' interests should be weighed. His principle of equal consideration of interests does not dictate equal treatment of all those with interests since different interests warrant different treatment. All have an interest in avoiding pain for instance but relatively few have an interest in cultivating their abilities. Not only does his principle justify different treatment for different interests but it allows different treatment for the same interest when diminishing marginal utility is a factor. For example this approach would privilege a starving person's interest in food over the same interest of someone who is only slightly hungry.
Drones soar in U.S. plans for future aircraft purchases
The military is dramatically upping its investment in drones over the next nine years, according to Pentagon plans.
The military is dramatically upping its investment in drones over the next nine years, according to Pentagon plans.
Peter Singer - Project Syndicate
The highest quality op-ed ( opinion-editorial ) articles, commentaries and analysis from distinguished voices across the world.
The highest quality op-ed ( opinion-editorial ) articles, commentaries and analysis from distinguished voices across the world.
Among the more important human interests are those in avoiding pain in developing one's abilities in satisfying basic needs for food and shelter in enjoying warm personal relationships in being free to pursue one's projects without interference "and many others". The fundamental interest that entitles a being to equal consideration is the capacity for "suffering and/or enjoyment or happiness". He holds that a being's interests should always be weighed according to that being's concrete properties. He favors a 'journey' model of life which measures the wrongness of taking a life by the degree to which doing so frustrates a life journey's goals. The journey model is tolerant of some frustrated desire and explains why persons who have embarked on their journeys are not replaceable. Only a personal interest in continuing to live brings the journey model into play. This model also explains the priority that Singer attaches to interests over trivial desires and pleasures.
Peter Hook Remembers Ian Curtis' Suicide, Suffers Feelings Of Guilt
Ian Curtis famously sang "Love Will Tear Us Apart," his voice haunting through radios as he rested, finally, in a grave of his own tragic making. The lead singer of Joy Division, the 1980 single became the band's biggest hit, a post-humous reminder of what could have, should have been.
Ian Curtis famously sang "Love Will Tear Us Apart," his voice haunting through radios as he rested, finally, in a grave of his own tragic making. The lead singer of Joy Division, the 1980 single became the band's biggest hit, a post-humous reminder of what could have, should have been.
Peter Singer Quotes - BrainyQuote
Peter Singer. An animal experiment cannot be justifiable unless the experiment is so important that the use of a brain-damaged human would be justifiable. ...
Peter Singer. An animal experiment cannot be justifiable unless the experiment is so important that the use of a brain-damaged human would be justifiable. ...
Singer's ideas require the concept of an impartial standpoint from which to compare interests. He has wavered about whether the precise aim is the total amount of satisfied interests or the most satisfied interests among those beings who already exist prior to the decision one is making. The second edition of Practical Ethics disavows the first edition's suggestion that the total and prior-existence views should be combined. The second edition asserts that preference-satisfaction utilitarianism incorporating the 'journey' model applies without invoking the first edition's suggestion about the total view. But the details are fuzzy and Singer admits that he is "not entirely satisfied" with his treatment.12
Ethical conduct is justifiable by reasons that go beyond prudence to "something bigger than the individual" addressing a larger audience. Singer thinks this going-beyond identifies moral reasons as "somehow universal" specifically in the injunction to 'love thy neighbor as thyself' interpreted by him as demanding that one give the same weight to the interests of others as one gives to one's own interests. This universalising step which Singer traces from Kant to Hare13 is crucial and sets him apart from those moral theorists from Hobbes to David Gauthier who tie morality to prudence. Universalisation leads directly to utilitarianism Singer argues on the strength of the thought that one's own interests cannot count for more than the interests of others. Taking these into account one must weigh them up and adopt the course of action that is most likely to maximise the interests of those affected; utilitarianism has been arrived at. Singer's universalising step applies to interests without reference to who has them whereas a Kantian's applies to the judgments of rational agents (in Kant's kingdom of ends or Rawls's Original Position etc.). Singer regards Kantian universalization as unjust to animals.14 As for the Hobbesians Singer attempts a response in the final chapter of Practical Ethics arguing that self-interested reasons support adoption of the moral point of view such as 'the paradox of hedonism' which counsels that happiness is best found by not looking for it and the need most people feel to relate to something larger than their own concerns.
Practical Ethics includes a chapter arguing for the redistribution of wealth to ameliorate absolute poverty (Chapter 8 "Rich and Poor") and another making a case for resettlement of refugees on a large scale in industrialised countries (Chapter 9 "Insiders and Outsiders").
Although the natural non-sentient environment has no intrinsic value for a utilitarian like Singer environmental degradation is a profound threat to sentient life and for this reason environmentalists are right to speak of wilderness as a 'world heritage'.15
Abortion euthanasia and infanticide
Consistent with his general ethical theory Singer holds that the right to life is intrinsically tied to a being's capacity to hold preferences which in turn is intrinsically tied to a being's capacity to feel pain and pleasure. In his view the central argument against abortion may be stated as the following syllogism:
It is wrong to kill an innocent human being.
A human fetus is an innocent human being.
Therefore it is wrong to kill a human fetus.16
In his book Rethinking Life and Death as well as in Practical Ethics Singer asserts that if we take the premises at face value the argument is deductively valid. Singer comments that defenders of abortion attack the second premise suggesting that the fetus becomes a "human" or "alive" at some point after conception; however Singer argues that human development is a gradual process that it is nearly impossible to mark a particular moment in time as the moment at which human life begins.
Singer at MIT.
Singer's argument for abortion differs from many other proponents of abortion; rather than attacking the second premise of the anti-abortion argument Singer attacks the first premise denying that it is necessarily wrong to take innocent human life:
The argument that a fetus is not alive is a resort to a convenient fiction that turns an evidently living being into one that legally is not alive. Instead of accepting such fictions we should recognise that the fact that a being is human and alive does not in itself tell us whether it is wrong to take that being's life.17
Singer states that arguments for or against abortion should be based on utilitarian calculation which weighs the preferences of a woman against the preferences of the fetus. In his view a preference is anything sought to be obtained or avoided; all forms of benefit or harm caused to a being correspond directly with the satisfaction or frustration of one or more of its preferences. Since a capacity to experience the sensations of suffering or satisfaction is a prerequisite to having any preferences at all and a fetus at least up to around eighteen weeks says Singer has no capacity to suffer or feel satisfaction it is not possible for such a fetus to hold any preferences at all. In a utilitarian calculation there is nothing to weigh against a woman's preferences to have an abortion; therefore abortion is morally permissible.
Similar to his argument for abortion Singer argues that newborns lack the essential characteristics of personhood"rationality autonomy and self-consciousness"18and therefore "killing a newborn baby is never equivalent to killing a person that is a being who wants to go on living."19
Singer classifies euthanasia as voluntary involuntary or non-voluntary. Voluntary euthanasia is that with the consent of the subject.
Singer's book Rethinking Life and Death: The Collapse of Our Traditional Ethics offers further examination of the ethical dilemmas concerning the advances of medicine. He covers the value of human life and quality of life ethics in addition to abortion and other controversial ethical questions.
Singer has experienced the complexities of some of these questions in his own life. His mother had Alzheimer's disease. He said "I think this has made me see how the issues of someone with these kinds of problems are really very difficult".20 In an interview with Ronald Bailey published in December 2000 he explained that his sister shares the responsibility of making decisions about his mother. He did say that if he were solely responsible his mother might not continue to live.21
World poverty
In "Famine Affluence and Morality"22 one of Singer's best-known philosophical essays he argues that some people living in abundance while others starve is morally indefensible. Singer proposes that anyone able to help the poor should donate part of their income to aid poverty relief and similar efforts. Singer reasons that when one is already living comfortably a further purchase to increase comfort will lack the same moral importance as saving another person's life.23 Singer himself reports that he donates 25 percent of his salary to Oxfam and UNICEF.24 In "Rich and Poor" the version of the aforementioned article that appears in the second edition of Practical Ethics25 his main argument is presented as follows:
If we can prevent something bad without sacrificing anything of comparable significance we ought to do it; absolute poverty is bad; there is some poverty we can prevent without sacrificing anything of comparable moral significance; therefore we ought to prevent some absolute poverty.
Singer's most recent book The Life You Can Save makes the argument that it is a clear-cut moral imperative for citizens of developed countries to give more to charitable causes that help the poor. While Singer acknowledges that there are problems with ensuring that money goes where it is most needed and that it is used effectively he does not think that these practical difficulties undermine his original conclusion (that people should make a much greater effort to reduce poverty).26
Other views
Zoophilia
In a 2001 review of Midas Dekkers' Dearest Pet: On Bestiality Singer argues that sexual activities between humans and animals that result in harm to the animal should remain illegal but that "sex with animals does not always involve cruelty" and that "mutually satisfying activities" of a sexual nature may sometimes occur between humans and animals and that writer Otto Soyka would condone such activities.27 The position was countered by fellow philosopher Tom Regan who writes that the same argument could be used to justify having sex with children. Regan writes that Singer's position is a consequence of his adapting a utilitarian or consequentialist approach to animal rights rather than a strictly rights-based one and argues that the rights-based position distances itself from non-consensual sex.28 The Humane Society of the United States takes the position that all sexual molestation of animals by humans is abusive whether it involves physical injury or not.29
Commenting on Singer's article "Heavy Petting"30 in which he argues that zoosexual activity need not be abusive and that relationships could form which were mutually enjoyed Ingrid Newkirk president of the animal rights group PETA argued that "If a girl gets sexual pleasure from riding a horse does the horse suffer If not who cares If you French kiss your dog and he or she thinks it's great is it wrong We believe all exploitation and abuse is wrong. If it isn't exploitation and abuse then it may not be wrong." A few years later Newkirk clarified in a letter to the Canada Free Press that she was strongly opposed to any exploitation of and all sexual activity with animals.31
Singer believes that although sex between species is not normal or natural32 it does not constitute a transgression of our status as human beings because human beings are animals or more specifically "we are great apes".
Singer lecturing at Oxford University.
Evolutionary biology and leftist politics
In A Darwinian Left33 Singer outlines a plan for the political left to adapt to the lessons of evolutionary biology. He says that evolutionary psychology suggests that humans naturally tend to be self-interested. He further argues that the evidence that selfish tendencies are natural must not be taken as evidence that selfishness is right. He concludes that game theory (the mathematical study of strategy) and experiments in psychology offer hope that self-interested people will make short-term sacrifices for the good of others if society provides the right conditions. Essentially Singer claims that although humans possess selfish competitive tendencies naturally they have a substantial capacity for cooperation that has also been selected for during human evolution. Singer's writing in Greater Good magazine published by the Greater Good Science Center of the University of California Berkeley includes the interpretation of scientific research into the roots of compassion altruism and peaceful human relationships.
Nonetheless he is not anti-capitalist. In an interview with New Left Project34 in 2010 he says the following:
Capitalism is very far from a perfect system but so far we have yet to find anything that clearly does a better job of meeting human needs than a regulated capitalist economy coupled with a welfare and health care system that meets the basic needs of those who do not thrive in the capitalist economy.
He then adds that "If we ever do find a better system I'll be happy to call myself an anti-capitalist."
Vegetarianism and ethics of food consumption
In an article for the online publication Chinadialogue Singer called Western-style meat production cruel unhealthy and damaging to the ecosystem.35 He rejected the idea that the method was necessary to meet the population's increasing demand explaining that animals in factory farms have to eat food grown explicitly for them and they burn up most of the food's energy just to breathe and keep their bodies warm.
Singer calls himself a vegetarian and a "flexible vegan". In his May 2006 interview in Mother Jones he states:
I don't eat meat. I've been a vegetarian since 1971. I've gradually become increasingly vegan. I am largely vegan but I'm a flexible vegan. I don't go to the supermarket and buy non-vegan stuff for myself. But when I'm traveling or going to other people's places I will be quite happy to eat vegetarian rather than vegan.36
In addition to his addressing issues concerning the consumption of animal products Singer's "Can You Do Good by Eating Well" in Greater Good examines the ethics of eating locally grown food.
Personism
Although he has expressed admiration for many of the values promoted by secular humanism Singer believes it to be incomplete and promotes a sort of utilitarian personism instead.37
Criticism of Singer
Singer's positions have been criticised by groups concerned with what they see as his attack upon human dignity such as advocates for disabled people and right-to-life supporters. Singer has replied that many people judge him based on secondhand summaries and short quotations taken out of context not his books or articles.38
Some claim that Singer's utilitarian ideas lead to eugenics.39 American publisher Steve Forbes ceased his donations to Princeton University in 1999 because of Singer's appointment to a prestigious professorship.40 Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal wrote to organisers of a Swedish book fair to which Singer was invited that "A professor of morals ... who justifies the right to kill handicapped newborns ... is in my opinion unacceptable for representation at your level."41 Marc Maurer President of the National Federation of the Blind criticised Singer's appointment to the Princeton Faculty in a banquet speech at the organisation's national convention in July 2001 claiming that Singer's support for euthanizing disabled babies could lead to disabled older children and adults being valued less as well.42
In 1989 when Peter Singer attempted to speak during a lecture at Saarbrcken he was interrupted by a group of protesters including advocates for the disabled. He offered the protesters the opportunity to explain why he should not be allowed to speak. The protesters indicated that they believed he was opposed to all rights for the disabled. They were unaware that although Singer believes that some lives are so blighted from the beginning that their parents may decide their lives are not worth living in other cases once the decision is made to keep them alive everything that can be done to improve the quality of their life should to Singer's mind be done. The ensuing discussion revealed that there were many misconceptions about his positions but the revelation did not end the controversy. One of the protesters expressed that entering serious discussions was a tactical error.43
The same year Peter Singer was invited to speak in Marburg at a European symposium on "Bioengineering Ethics and Mental Disability." The invitation was brutally attacked by leading intellectuals and organizations in German media with an article in Der Spiegel comparing Singer's positions to Nazism. The symposium was eventually cancelled and Singer's invitation consequently withdrawn.44
A lecture at the Zoological Institute of the University of Zurich was also interrupted by two groups of protesters. The first group was a group of disabled people who staged a brief protest at the beginning of the lecture. They objected to inviting an advocate of euthanasia to speak. At the end of this protest when Singer attempted to address their concerns a second group of protesters rose and began chanting "Singer raus! Singer raus!" ("Singer out!") When Singer attempted to respond a protester jumped on stage and grabbed his glasses and the host ended the lecture. The first group of protesters was distressed by this second more aggressive group. It had not intended to halt the lecture and even had questions to ask Singer. Singer explains "my views are not threatening to anyone even minimally" and says that some groups play on the anxieties of those who hear only keywords that are understandably worrying (given the constant fears of ever repeating the holocaust) if taken with any less than the full context of his belief system.4546
Meta-ethics and foundational issues
Singer lecturing at Washington University in St. Louis.
Though Singer focuses more than many philosophers on applied ethical questions he has also written in depth on foundational issues in meta-ethics including why one ethical system should be chosen over others. In The Expanding Circle47 he argues that the evolution of human society provides support for the utilitarian point of view. On his account ethical reasoning has existed from the time primitive foraging bands had to cooperate compromise and make group decisions to survive. He elaborates: "In a dispute between members of a cohesive group of reasoning beings the demand for a reason is a demand for a justification that can be accepted by the group as a whole."48 Thus consideration of others' interests has long been a necessary part of the human experience. Singer believes that contemplative analysis may now guide one to accept a broader utilitarianism:
"If I have seen that from an ethical point of view I am just one person among the many in my society and my interests are no more important from the point of view of the whole than the similar interests of others within my society I am ready to see that from a still larger point of view my society is just one among other societies and the interests of members of my society are no more important from that larger perspective than the similar interests of members of other societies... Taking the impartial element in ethical reasoning to its logical conclusion means first accepting that we ought to have equal concern for all human beings.
Singer elaborates that viewing oneself as equal to others in one's society and at the same time viewing one's society as fundamentally superior to other societies may cause an uncomfortable cognitive dissonance. This is the sense in which he means that reason may push people to accept a broader utilitarian stance.49 Critics like Ken Binmore say that this cognitive dissonance is apparently not very strong since people often knowingly ignore the interests of faraway societies quite similar to their own and that the "ought" above only applies if one already accepts Singer's basic premises about the equality of various interests.50
An alternative line taken by Singer about the need for ethics51 is that living the ethical life may be on the whole more satisfying than seeking only material gain. He invokes the hedonistic paradox noting that those who pursue material gain seldom find the happiness they seek. Having a broader purpose in life may lead to more long-term happiness. On this account impartial (self-sacrificing) behavior in particular matters may be motivated by self-interested considerations from a broader perspective.
Singer has also implicitly argued that an airtight defense of utilitarianism is not crucial to his work. In "Famine Affluence and Morality"52 he begins by saying that he would like to see how far a seemingly innocuous and widely endorsed principle can take us; the principle is that one is morally required to forgo a small pleasure to relieve someone else's immense pain. He then argues that this principle entails radical conclusionsfor example that affluent people are very immoral if they do not give up some luxury goods to donate the money for famine relief. If his reasoning is valid he goes on to argue either it is not very immoral to value small luxuries over saving many lives or such affluent people are very immoral. As Singer argues in the same essay regardless of the soundness of his fundamental defense of utilitarianism his argument has value in that it exposes conflicts between many people's stated beliefs and their actions.
Publications
Singer is one of the most prolific writers in philosophy sometimes publishing several books a year as well as public engagement. His books include:
Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals New York Review/Random House New York 1975; Cape London 1976; Avon New York 1977; Paladin London 1977; Thorsons London 1983. Harper Perennial Modern Classics New York 2009.
Democracy and Disobedience Clarendon Press Oxford 1973; Oxford University Press New York 1974; Gregg Revivals Aldershot Hampshire 1994
Animal Rights and Human Obligations: An Anthology (co-editor with Thomas Regan) Prentice-Hall New Jersey 1976. 2nd revised edition Prentice-Hall New Jersey 1989
Practical Ethics Cambridge University Press Cambridge 1979; second edition 1993; third edition 2011. ISBN 0521229200 ISBN 0521297206 ISBN 9780521707688
Marx Oxford University Press Oxford 1980; Hill & Wang New York 1980; reissued as Marx: A Very Short Introduction Oxford University Press 2000; also included in full in K. Thomas (ed.) Great Political Thinkers: Machiavelli Hobbes Mill and Marx Oxford University Press Oxford 1992
Animal Factories (co-author with James Mason) Crown New York 1980
The Expanding Circle: Ethics and Sociobiology Farrar Straus and Giroux New York 1981; Oxford University Press Oxford 1981; New American Library New York 1982. ISBN 0192830384
Hegel Oxford University Press Oxford and New York 1982; reissued as Hegel: A Very Short Introduction Oxford University Press 2001; also included in full in German Philosophers: Kant Hegel Schopenhauer Nietzsche Oxford University Press Oxford 1997
Test-Tube Babies: a guide to moral questions present techniques and future possibilities (co-edited with William Walters) Oxford University Press Melbourne 1982
The Reproduction Revolution: New Ways of Making Babies (co-author with Deane Wells) Oxford University Press Oxford 1984. revised American edition Making Babies Scribner's New York 1985
Should the Baby Live The Problem of Handicapped Infants (co-author with Helga Kuhse) Oxford University Press Oxford 1985; Oxford University Press New York 1986; Gregg Revivals Aldershot Hampshire 1994. ISBN 0192177451
In Defence of Animals (ed.) Blackwells Oxford 1985; Harper & Row New York 1986. ISBN 0631138978
Ethical and Legal Issues in Guardianship Options for Intellectually Disadvantaged People (co-author with Terry Carney) Human Rights Commission Monograph Series no. 2 Australian Government Publishing Service Canberra 1986
Applied Ethics (ed.) Oxford University Press Oxford 1986
Animal Liberation: A Graphic Guide (co-author with Lori Gruen) Camden Press London 1987
Embryo Experimentation (co-editor with Helga Kuhse Stephen Buckle Karen Dawson and Pascal Kasimba) Cambridge University Press Cambridge 1990; paperback edition updated 1993
A Companion to Ethics (ed.) Basil Blackwell Oxford 1991; paperback edition 1993
Save the Animals! (Australian edition co-author with Barbara Dover and Ingrid Newkirk) Collins Angus & Robertson North Ryde NSW 1991
The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity (co-editor with Paola Cavalieri) Fourth Estate London 1993; hardback St Martin's Press New York 1994; paperback St Martin's Press New York 1995
How Are We to Live Ethics in an Age of Self-interest Text Publishing Melbourne 1993; Mandarin London 1995; Prometheus Buffalo NY 1995; Oxford University Press Oxford 1997
Ethics (ed.) Oxford University Press Oxford 1994
Individuals Humans and Persons: Questions of Life and Death (co-author with Helga Kuhse) Academia Verlag Sankt Augustin Germany 1994
Rethinking Life and Death: The Collapse of Our Traditional Ethics Text Publishing Melbourne 1994; St Martin's Press New York 1995; reprint 2008. ISBN 0312118805 Oxford University Press Oxford 1995
The Greens (co-author with Bob Brown) Text Publishing Melbourne 1996
The Allocation of Health Care Resources: An Ethical Evaluation of the "QALY" Approach (co-author with John McKie Jeff Richardson and Helga Kuhse) Ashgate/Dartmouth Aldershot 1998
A Companion to Bioethics (co-editor with Helga Kuhse) Blackwell Oxford 1998
Ethics into Action: Henry Spira and the Animal Rights Movement Rowman and Littlefield Lanham Maryland 1998; Melbourne University Press Melbourne 1999
Bioethics. An Anthology (co-editor with Helga Kuhse) Blackwell 1999/ Oxford 2006
A Darwinian Left Weidenfeld and Nicolson London 1999; Yale University Press New Haven 2000. ISBN 0-300-08323-8
Writings on an Ethical Life Ecco New York 2000; Fourth Estate London 2001. ISBN 0060198389
Unsanctifying Human Life: Essays on Ethics (edited by Helga Kuhse) Blackwell Oxford 2001
One World: The Ethics of Globalisation Yale University Press New Haven 2002; Text Publishing Melbourne 2002; 2nd edition pb Yale University Press 2004; Oxford Longman Hyderabad 2004. ISBN 0300096860
Pushing Time Away: My Grandfather and the Tragedy of Jewish Vienna Ecco Press New York 2003; HarperCollins Australia Melbourne 2003; Granta London 2004
The President of Good and Evil: The Ethics of George W. Bush Dutton New York 2004; Granta London 2004; Text Melbourne 2004. ISBN 0525948139
How Ethical is Australia An Examination of Australia's Record as a Global Citizen (with Tom Gregg) Black Inc Melbourne 2004
The Moral of the Story: An Anthology of Ethics Through Literature (co-edited with Renata Singer) Blackwell Oxford 2005
In Defense of Animals. The Second Wave (ed.) Blackwell Oxford 2005
The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter Rodale New York 2006 (co-author with Jim Mason); Text Melbourne; Random House London. Audio version: Playaway. ISBN 157954889X
Eating (co-authored with Jim Mason) Arrow London 2006
Stem Cell Research: the ethical issues. (co-edited by Lori Gruen Laura Grabel and Peter Singer). New York: Blackwells. 2007.
The Bioethics Reader: Editors' Choice. (co-editor with Ruth Chadwick Helga Kuhse Willem Landman and Udo Schklenk). New York: Blackwells. 2007.
The Future of Animal Farming: Renewing the Ancient Contract (with Marian Stamp Dawkins and Roland Bonney) 2008. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty. New York: Random House 2009. (see also thelifeyoucansave.com) 53
Schaler Jeffrey A. (Editor.). 2009. Peter Singer Under Fire: The Moral Iconoclast Faces His Critics. Chicago: Open Court Publishers.
Leist A. and P.Singer. (eds.) 2010. J. M. Coetzee and Ethics: Philosophical Perspectives on Literature. New York: Columbia University Press.
See also
Intrinsic value (animal ethics)
Argument from marginal cases
Utilitarian bioethics
Utilitarianism
Demandingness objection
References
".". http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/02086720459801-2513200.html. dead link
Douglas Aiton: Ten Things You Didn't Know about Professor Peter Singer; The Weekend Australian magazine 27 February 2005
Suzannah Pearce ed (17 November 2006). "RICHARDSON (Sue) Susan". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
Democracy and Disobedience Oxford: Clarendon Press 1973 ISBN 0-19-824504-1.
Appel Jacob M. Interview with Peter Singer Philosopher and Educator Education Update July 2004. educationupdate.com
Peter Singer's university website
Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics
Peter Singer. Resources on Singer including book excerpts articles interviews reviews and writings about him.
Peter Singer biography
Peter Singer debates his views on a BBC/RSA panel in London 5 Sep 2006
Peter Singer's monthly Project Syndicate commentary series "The Ethics of Life"
"Global Poverty and International Aid" Radio interview on Philosophy Talk
Singer's article in Greater Good Magazine about the ethics of eating locally grown good
The Singer Solution to World Poverty
Peter Singer on animal rights (PDF)
"The professoriate" New College of the Humanities accessed June 8 2011.
Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals New York: New York review/Random House 1975 ISBN 0-394-40096-8; second edition 1990 ISBN 0-940322-00-5.
"Karen Dawn's Biography". Thankingthemonkey.com. http://www.thankingthemonkey.com/aboutkarendawn.php. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
Peter Singer "A Utilitarian Defense of Animal Liberation" in Environmental Ethics ed. Louis Pojman (Stamford CT: Wadsworth 2001) 35."
Practical Ethics Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1979 ISBN 0-521-22920-0; second edition 1993 ISBN 0-521-43363-0.
Practical Ethics p. xi
Practical Ethics p. 11
Animal Liberation pp. 211 256
Practical Ethics p. 269
Abortion 1995
Rethinking Life and Death 105.
Taking Life: Humans Excerpted from Practical Ethics 2nd edition 1993
Singer Peter. Peter Singer FAQ Princeton University accessed 8 March 2009.
Quoted in Michael Specter "The Dangerous Philosopher" The New Yorker 6 September 1999.
Ronald Bailey "The Pursuit of Happiness" Reason (magazine) December 2000.
"Famine Affluence and Morality" Philosophy and Public Affairs vol. 1 no. 3 (Spring 1972) pp. 229243.
One point of contention is at what point a person may be said to be "living comfortably" and "Famine Affluence And Morality" does not set out to specify this.
"FAQ on Singer's webpage at Princeton". Princeton.edu. http://www.princeton.edu/psinger/faq.html. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
Op. cit. pp. 218246.
Life You Can Save: How to Live or How to Give Philanthropy Action 1 April 2009
Singer Peter. Heavy Petting Nerve 2001.
Regan Tom. Animal Rights Human Wrongs. Rowman & Littlefield 2003 pp. 634 89.
"NManimalcontrol.com". NManimalcontrol.com. http://www.nmanimalcontrol.com/acofo/sexabuse/. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
Pablo Stafforini. "Utilitarian.net". Utilitarian.net. http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/2001----.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
"Canadafreepress.com". Canadafreepress.com. 2005-07-21. http://canadafreepress.com/2005/rubin072105.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
In one interview Singer said that he "is not in favor" having sex with animals and that having sex with other people is "more fun." (The Colbert Report comedycentral.com Comedy Central 11 December 2006.)
A Darwinian Left: Politics Evolution and Cooperation New Haven : Yale University Press 2000 ISBN 0-300-08323-8.
"Newleftproject.org". Newleftproject.org. http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/articlecomments/ethicsandtheleft/. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
"The ethics of eating" chinadialogue. 30 August 2006
Dave Gilson (3 May 2006). "Chew the Right Thing". Mother Jones. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2006/05/chew-right-thing. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
Pablo Stafforini. "Utilitarian.net". Utilitarian.net. http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/200410--.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
"The aim of my argument is to elevate the status of animals rather than to lower the status of any humans" (Practical Ethics p. 77).
Peter Singer Practical Ethics 3rd edition
"Steve Forbes Declines Princeton Financial Backing Due to Singer Hiring". Euthanasia.com. 1999-09-21. http://www.euthanasia.com/forb.html. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
Don Felder "Professor Death will fit right in at Princeton Jewish World Review 28 October 1998.
"Independence and the Necessity for Diplomacy". Nfb.org. http://www.nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/convent/banque01.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
Holger Dorf "Singer in Saabrcken" Unirevue (Winter Semester 1989/90) p.47.
Sheri Berman "Euthanasia Eugenics and Fascism: How Close are the Connections" German Politics and Society 17(3) Fall 1999.
"Criticanarede.com". Criticanarede.com. http://criticanarede.com/html/ed99.html. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
Practical Ethics second edition 1993 ISBN 0-521-43363-0. pp. 346359.
The Expanding Circle: Ethics and Sociobiology New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux 1981 ISBN 0-374-23496-5.
The Expanding Circle p. 93
The Expanding Circle p. 119
Ken Binmore Natural Justice Oxford : Oxford University Press 2005. ISBN 0-19-517811-4.
In e.g. the last chapter of Practical Ethics.
""Famine Affluence and Morality"" (PDF). http://www.fringer.org/wp-content/writings/famine.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
Reviewed at Dwight Garner (10 March 2009). "If You Think You're Good You Should Think Again". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/books/11garn.htmlrefbooks. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
External links
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive and inappropriate external links. (October 2010)
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Peter Singer
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peter Singer
Peter Singer at Princeton University
Column arcchive at Project Syndicate
Appearances on C-SPAN
Peter Singer on Charlie Rose
Peter Singer at the Internet Movie Database
Works by or about Peter Singer in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Peter Singer collected news and commentary at The New York Times
Interviews
Richard Dawkins interviews Peter Singer for UK's Channel 4 series 'The Genius of Charles Darwin'
'Each of Us Is Just One Among Others' in A. Voorhoeve Conversations on Ethics. Oxford University Press 2009 ISBN 978-0-19-921537-9
Singer appears and freely articulates thoughts on vegetarianism and applied ethics in Time Square NYC in a 10 Minute segment of Astra Taylor's 2008 film Examined Life.
Big Think's Interview with Peter Singer: http://bigthink.com/petersinger
Bloggingheads.tv interview by economist Tyler Cowen on the book; The Life You Can Save about Acting Now To End World Poverty
Video (with audio-only available) of conversation with Singer and Tyler Cowen on Bloggingheads.tv
RSA Vision webcast - "RSA/WWF Series on Global Challenges and the Values we Live By" - Peter Singer on ethics engagement and civil society
Video: Peter Singer: Climate change eating meat and ending poverty (2009 Milthorpe Lecture)
Audio: Peter Singer in conversation on the BBC World Service discussion show The Forum
Singer Peter (1946-) National Library of Australia Trove People and Organisation record for Peter Singer
Peter Singer and Eugenics
Reading The Singer on "Bestiality"
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Authority control: PND: 118866850 LCCN: n79063517 VIAF: 108385086
Persondata
Name
Singer Peter
Alternative names
Short description
Australian philosopher
Date of birth
6 July 1946
Place of birth
Melbourne Australia
Date of death
Place of death
Peter Andre: My little son gave me grammar lesson
Pop star Peter Andre has spoken of his joy at seeing his son, Junior, learning to read - and his astonishment as the six-year-old corrected his grammar.
Pop star Peter Andre has spoken of his joy at seeing his son, Junior, learning to read - and his astonishment as the six-year-old corrected his grammar.




















