Western Philosophy Contemporary philosophy
Name	Peter Singer
Birth	July 6, 1946 (1946-07-06) (age 61)
School/tradition	Analytic · Utilitarianism
Main interests	Ethics
Influenced by	John Stuart Mill · Henry Sidgwick R.M. Hare · Jeremy Bentham
Influenced	Peter Unger · Colin McGinn Roger Crisp · Iain King Dale Jamieson · Gregory Pence

Peter Albert David Singer (born July 6, 1946 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian philosopher. Western philosophy is a term that refers to philosophical thinking in the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies See also [[Analytic philosophy]] and [[Continental philosophy]] Contemporary philosophy is the period in the history of philosophy that began at the end of the nineteenth Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Analytic philosophy (sometimes analytical philosophy) is a generic term for a style of Philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall Utility, that is its contribution to happiness Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 &ndash 8 May 1873 British Philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential Henry Sidgwick ( May 31, 1838 – August 28, 1900) was an English Utilitarian Philosopher. Richard Mervyn Hare ( 21 March 1919  &ndash 29 January 2002) was an English moral philosopher who held the post of White's Jeremy Bentham ( IPA: or) (15 February 1748&ndash6 June 1832 was an English Jurist, Philosopher, and legal and Social reformer Peter K Unger (born 1942 is a contemporary American Philosopher and professor at New York University. Colin McGinn (born March 10, 1950) is a British Philosopher currently working at the University of Miami. Iain King (born 1971 is a contemporary British Moral philosopher. Gregory E Pence is a Professor in the department of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, and laureate professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), University of Melbourne. Bioethics is the philosophical study of the ethical controversies brought about by advances in Biology and Medicine. Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. The Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE at Australian National University, Charles Sturt University and University of Melbourne was The University of Melbourne is a Public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. He specializes in practical ethics, approaching ethical issues from a preference utilitarian and atheistic perspective. Preference utilitarianism is quite probably the most popular form of Utilitarianism in contemporary philosophy Atheism

He has served, on two occasions, as chair of philosophy at Monash University, where he founded its Centre for Human Bioethics. Monash University is a Public university based in Melbourne, Australia. The Centre for Human Bioethics is a research and teaching centre at Monash University, based in the Faculty of Arts. In 1996, he ran unsuccessfully as a Green candidate for the Australian Senate. The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. In 2004, he was recognized as the Australian Humanist of the Year by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies. See also philosophical Humanism For the Renaissance liberal arts movement see Renaissance humanism Humanism is

Outside academic circles, Singer is best known for his book Animal Liberation, widely regarded as the touchstone of the animal liberation movement. Animal Liberation is a book by Australian philosopher Peter Singer, published in 1975 For the concept see Animal rights. For other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. 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 Social psychology 3.3.3 Evolutionary biology and liberal politics 3.4 Criticism 4 Meta-ethics and foundational issues 5 Publications 6 See also 7 Notes 8 External links

Life and career

Singer's parents were Viennese Jews who escaped the German annexation of Austria and fled to Australia in 1938. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ His grandparents were less fortunate: his paternal grandparents were taken by the Nazis to Łódź, and were never heard from again; his maternal grandfather died in Theresienstadt. The Ghetto Litzmannstadt was the second-largest Ghetto (after the Warsaw Ghetto) established for Jews and Roma in German -occupied Theresienstadt concentration camp (often referred to as Terezín) was a Nazi Concentration camp during World War II. ^[1] Singer's father imported tea and coffee, while his mother practised medicine. He attended Scotch College. Scotch College Melbourne (commonly referred to as Scotch) is an independent, Presbyterian, day and Boarding school for boys After leaving school, Singer studied law, history and philosophy at the University of Melbourne, gaining his degree in 1967. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language The University of Melbourne is a Public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. 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. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the Bachelor of Philosophy ( BPhil; occasionally BPh or PhB) is the title of an Academic degree. Richard Mervyn Hare ( 21 March 1919  &ndash 29 January 2002) was an English moral philosopher who held the post of White's ^[2]

After spending two years as a Radcliffe lecturer at University College, Oxford, he was visiting professor at New York University for 16 months. John Radcliffe could be John Radcliffe (English physician (1652-1714 a British physician John Radcliffe (baseball (1846-1911 an University College (in full the The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as Univ) is one of New York University ( NYU) is a private, Nonsectarian, Coeducational Research University in New York City. He returned to Melbourne in 1977, where he spent most of his career, apart from many visiting positions internationally until his move to Princeton in 1999. ^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Animal Liberation

Animal rights Notable activists Greg Avery · David Barbarash Rod Coronado · Barry Horne Ronnie Lee · Keith Mann Ingrid Newkirk · Alex Pacheco Jill Phipps · Henry Spira Andrew Tyler · Jerry Vlasak Paul Watson · Robin Webb Notable groups Animal Aid · ALF · BUAV · GAP Hunt Saboteurs · PETA Physicians Committee Political parties · Primate Freedom Sea Shepherd · SPEAK · SHAC Issues Animal liberation movement Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act Animal testing · Bile bear · Blood sport Covance · Draize test Factory farming · Fur trade Great Ape research ban · HLS Lab animal sources · LD50 Nafovanny · Open rescue Operation Backfire · Primate trade Seal hunting · Speciesism Cases Britches · Brown Dog affair Cambridge · Pit of despair Silver Spring monkeys Unnecessary Fuss Notable writers Steven Best · Stephen Clark Gary Francione Gill Langley · Tom Regan Bernard Rollin · Richard Ryder Peter Singer · Steven Wise Films, magazines, books Behind the Mask · Earthlings Arkangel · Bite Back No Compromise Animal Liberation Related categories ALF · Animal testing Animal rights · AR movement Livestock · Meat Related templates Agriculture · Animal testing Fishing This box: view • talk • edit

Main article: Animal Liberation (book)

Published in 1975, Animal Liberation^[13] was a major formative influence on the animal liberation movement. "Animal liberation" redirects here for other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. Greg Avery (born 1963 is a British Animal rights activist He is chiefly known as a founding member of several influential animal rights campaigns David Barbarash was the North American press officer for the Animal Liberation Front from mid-1999 until late-2002 Rodney Adam Coronado is a Native American eco-anarchist and Animal rights activist who has been convicted of Arson, conspiracy and other crimes For the Welsh footballer see Barry Horne (footballer Barry Horne ( March 17, 1952 &ndash November 5, 2001 Ronnie Lee (born 1951 is a British Animal rights activist who in 1976 founded the Animal Liberation Front (ALF and the magazine Keith Mann is a British Animal rights campaigner and writer alleged by police to be "at the top of the Animal Liberation Front pyramid Ingrid Newkirk (born June 11, 1949) is an English-born Animal rights activist author and president and co-founder of People for the Ethical Treatment Alexander Fernando Pacheco (born August 1958 is an American Animal rights activist Jill Phipps ( 15 January, 1964 &mdash 1 February, 1995) was a British Animal rights activist. Henry Spira ( June 19, 1927 &ndash September 12, 1998) is widely regarded as one of the most effective animal rights activists of the 20th century Andrew Tyler is the director of Animal Aid, the UK's second largest Animal rights organization (after peta Jerry Vlasak (born circa 1958 in Austin Texas) is an American trauma Surgeon and Animal rights activist Paul Watson (born December 2, 1950) is the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and a significant figure in the Environmental movement Robin Webb runs the Animal Liberation Press Office in the UK which releases material to the media on behalf of animal rights activists operating as the Animal Liberation See also Animal rights movement Organizations Broadly-focused national and international groups Animal Aid (UK Animal Aid, founded in 1977 is a British Animal rights organisation For other uses of the term 'ALF' see ALF (disambiguation. The Animal Liberation Front (ALF is a name used internationally by animal liberation activists The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection ( BUAV) is a British animal protection group based in London UK which campaigns for the complete abolition of all The Great Ape Project (GAP founded in 1993 is an international organization of Primatologists Psychologists Ethicists and other experts who advocate The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA is a worldwide organization using Direct action to stop the Hunting of Animals HSA activists use a model of Leaderless The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM is a Non-profit organization based in Washington D In recent years several Political parties were founded that have as their main goal the improvement of Animal welfare and the recognition of Animal rights The Primate Freedom Project is a 501(c(3 not-for-profit Grassroots abolitionist Animal rights organization based in Atlanta Georgia The Sea Shepherd Conservation SPEAK the Voice for the Animals is a British Animal rights campaign that aims to end animal experimentation in the UK Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC is an international Animal rights campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS For the concept see Animal rights. For other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA is a United States federal law introduced by Republican Thomas Petri of Wisconsin. Animal testing or animal research is the use of non-human Animals in scientific experimentation. A bile bear or battery bear is the term used for Asiatic black bears kept in captivity in Vietnam and China so that Bile may be extracted from them for sale as a Bloodsport or blood sport is any Sport or Entertainment that involves violence against animals Covance Inc ( formerly Corning Incorporated with headquarters in Princeton New Jersey, is a Contract research organization, (also known as a Clinical research Animal testing on rabbits The Draize Test is an acute toxicity test devised in 1944 by Food and Drug Administration (FDA Toxicologist John H Factory farming is the practice of raising Farm animals in confinement at high stocking density where a farm operates as a Factory &mdash a practice typical in The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal Fur. A great ape research ban, or severe restrictions on the use of non-human Great apes in research is currently in place in the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS is a contract animal-testing company founded in 1952 in England now with facilities in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire and Eye Suffolk in the UK Animals used by laboratories for testing purposes are largely supplied by dealers who specialize in the trade In Toxicology, the median lethal dose, LD50 (abbreviation for “Lethal Dose 50%” or LCt50 (Lethal Concentration & Time of a Nafovanny in Vietnam is the largest captive-breeding primate facility in the world supplying long-tailed macaques ( Macaca fascicularis) to animal Open rescue is a term for a form of Direct action practiced by certain Animal rights and Animal welfare activists. Operation Backfire is a multi-agency criminal investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI into destructive acts in the name of Animal rights The international trade in primates sees 32000 wild non-human Primates (NHPs trapped and sold on the international market every year Sealing redirects here for other uses see Sealing (disambiguation. Speciesism involves assigning different values or rights to beings on the basis of their Species membership Britches was the name given by researchers to a Stump-tailed macaque monkey born into a breeding colony at the University of California Riverside (UCR in March 1985 The Brown Dog affair was a political controversy about Vivisection that raged in Edwardian England from 1903 until 1910 Cambridge University primate experiments are licensed by the British government for the purpose of research into Brain function The pit of despair, or vertical chamber, was a device used in experiments conducted on Rhesus macaque monkeys during the 1970s by American comparative The Silver Spring monkeys were seventeen Macaque monkeys living inside the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring Maryland, who became what one writer Unnecessary Fuss is a film produced by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA showing footage Steven Best (born December 1955 is an American Animal rights activist author talk-show host and associate professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso Stephen Richard Lyster Clark (born October 30, 1945) is a British philosopher and international authority on Animal rights, currently professor Gary Lawrence Francione (born 1954 is an American legal scholar Dr Gillian Rose Langley (born 1952 is a British scientist and writer who specialises in Alternatives to animal testing, Animal rights and animal protection issues Tom Regan (born November 28, 1938 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania) is an American Philosopher who specializes in Animal rights theory Bernard E Rollin is a philosopher widely recognized for his approach to Animal rights, as well as his influence in politics Richard D Ryder (born 1940 is a British Psychologist who after performing psychology experiments on animals began to speak out against the practice and became Steven M Wise (born 1952 is an American legal scholar who specializes in animal protection issues Primatology, and animal intelligence Behind the Mask The Story Of The People Who Risk Everything To Save Animals is a 2006 Documentary film about the Animal Liberation Front (ALF Earthlings is a 2003 multi-award winning documentary written produced and directed by Shaun Monson and co-produced Arkangel is a British-based bi-annual animal liberation magazine first published in the winter of 1989 For the song of the same name see Bite Back (song Bite Back is a Malaysia-registered website and magazine that promotes the cause of No Compromise was a San Francisco-based bi-annual Animal rights magazine first published in the winter of 1989 Animal Liberation is a book by Australian philosopher Peter Singer, published in 1975 Animal Liberation is a book by Australian philosopher Peter Singer, published in 1975 Although Singer rejects rights as a moral ideal independent from his utilitarianism based on interests, he accepts rights as derived from utilitarian principles, particularly the principle of minimizing suffering. ^[14] Singer allows that animal rights are not exactly the same as human rights, writing in Animal Liberation that "there are obviously important differences between human and other animals, and these differences must give rise to some differences in the rights that each have. "^[15] He began his book by defending against Mary Wollstonecraft's 18th-century critic Thomas Taylor, who argued that if Wollstonecraft's reasoning in defense of women's rights were correct, then "brutes" would have rights too. Mary Wollstonecraft (ˈwʊlstənkrɑːft 27 April 1759 – 10 September Thomas Taylor ( 15 May 1758 - 1 November 1835) was an English translator and Neoplatonist the first to translate into English Taylor thought he had produced a reductio ad absurdum of Wollstonecraft's view; Singer regards it as a sound logical implication. Reductio ad absurdum ( Latin for "reduction to the absurd" also known as an apagogical argument, reductio ad impossibile

In Animal Liberation, Singer argues against what he calls speciesism: discrimination on the grounds that a being belongs to a certain species. Speciesism involves assigning different values or rights to beings on the basis of their Species membership Unlike most discrimination policies discrimination between, which is the discernment of qualities and recognition of the differences focused here discrimination against is He holds the interests of all beings capable of suffering to be worthy of equal consideration, and that giving lesser consideration to beings based on their having wings or fur is no more justified than discrimination based on skin color. " Equal consideration of interests " is the name of a moral principle that states that one should both include all affected interests when calculating the rightness of an action In particular, he argues that while animals show lower intelligence than the average human, many severely retarded humans show equally diminished, if not lower, mental capacity, and intelligence therefore does not provide a basis for providing nonhuman animals any less consideration than such retarded humans. Singer does not specifically contend that we ought not use animals for food insofar as they are raised and killed in a way that actively avoids the inflicting of pain, but as such farms are uncommon, he concludes that the most practical solution is to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet. Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes Meat (including game and slaughter by-products Fish (including Shellfish and other sea Singer also condemns vivisection except where the benefit (in terms of improved medical treatment, etc. ) outweighs the harm done to the animals used. ^[16]

Applied ethics

His most comprehensive work, Practical Ethics,^[17] analyzes in detail why and how beings' interests should be weighed. Practical Ethics is an introduction to applied ethics by modern bioethical Philosopher Peter Singer. 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, favoring, for instance, a starving person's interest in food over the same interest of someone who is only slightly hungry.

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.

He requires the idea 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. ^[18]

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 universalizing step, which Singer traces from Kant to Hare,^[19] is crucial and sets him apart from moral theorists from Hobbes to David Gauthier, who tie reasons to prudence. Immanuel Kant (ɪmanuəl kant 22 April 1724 12 February 1804 was an 18th-century German Philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg Thomas Hobbes (born 5 April 1588died 4 December 1679 was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation David Gauthier (born 1932 is a Canadian-American Philosopher best known for his neo- Hobbesian social contract (contractarian theory of Morality Universalization 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 maximize the interests of those affected; utilitarianism has been arrived at. Singer's universalizing 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. John Rawls ( February 21, 1921  &ndash November 24, 2002) was an American Philosopher, a Professor of ). Singer regards Kantian universalization as unjust to animals. ^[20] 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. The paradox of Hedonism, also called the pleasure paradox, is the idea in the study of Ethics which points out that Pleasure and Happiness

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 industrialized 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'. ^[21]

Abortion, euthanasia and infanticide

Consistent with his general ethical theory, Singer holds that the right to life is grounded in a being's personhood; that is, in the sense of a being's rationality and self-consciousness. In his view, the central argument against abortion is equivalent to the following logical syllogism:

It is wrong to kill an innocent human being. A syllogism, or logical appeal, (συλλογισμός &mdash "conclusion" "inference" (usually the categorical syllogism) is a kind of
A human fetus is an innocent human being.
Therefore it is wrong to kill a human fetus. ^[22]

His argument against this is to say that, while a fetus is a member of the human species, it is not a person, which he defines as a self-conscious being that sees itself over time. He sees species membership as morally irrelevant, but personhood as relevant. ^[23]

Similar to his argument for abortion, Singer argues that infants similarly lack essential characteristics of personhood - "rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness" ^[24]- and therefore "[s]imply killing an infant is never equivalent to killing a person. "^[25].

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 dilemmas.

World poverty

In "Famine, Affluence, and Morality",^[26] one of Singer's best-known philosophical essays, he argues that the injustice of some people living in abundance while others starve is morally indefensible. "Famine Affluence and Morality" is an Essay written by Peter Singer in 1971 and published in Philosophy and Public Affairs 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. (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 how to specify this. ) Singer himself reports that he donates 25 percent of his salary to Oxfam and UNICEF. Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice The United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946 ^[27] In "Rich and Poor", the version of the aforementioned article that appears in the second edition of Practical Ethics,^[28] 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.

Other views

Zoophilia

In a 2001 review of Midas Dekkers's Dearest Pet: On Bestiality,^[29] Singer stated that "mutually satisfying activities" of a sexual nature may sometimes occur between humans and animals and that writer Otto Soyka would condone such activities. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Singer explains Dekker's belief that zoophilia should remain illegal if it involves what he sees as "cruelty", but otherwise is no cause for shock or horror. Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον ( zṓion, "animal" and φιλία ( philia, "friendship" or "love" is a Paraphilia However, Singer does not claim to endorse the views of either Dekker or Soyka, merely to be explaining them. Singer believes that although sex between species is not normal or natural,^[30] it does not constitute a transgression of our status as human beings, because human beings are animals or, more specifically, "we are great apes". ^[29] Some religious individuals and animal rights groups have condemned this view, while the animal rights organization PETA has expressed cautious support.

Social psychology

Singer also works in the field of social psychology. Social psychology is the study of how people and groups interact Singer's writing appeared in Greater Good magazine, published by the Greater Good Science Center of the University of California, Berkeley. The Greater Good Science Center, located at the University of California Berkeley is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the scientific understanding of happy and The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley Singer's contributions include the interpretation of scientific research into the roots of compassion, altruism, and peaceful human relationships. Singer's article, "Can You Do Good by Eating Well?" examines the ethics of eating locally grown food.

Evolutionary biology and liberal politics

In A Darwinian Left,^[31] Singer outlines a plan for the political left to adapt to the lessons of evolutionary biology. A Darwinian Left Politics Evolution and Cooperation is a book by Peter Singer (Yale University Press ISBN 0-300-08323-8 which argues that the view of human nature Evolutionary biology is a sub-field of Biology concerned with the origin of Species from a Common descent, and Descent of species He says that evolutionary psychology suggests that humans naturally tend to be self-interested. Evolutionary psychology ( EP) attempts to explain mental and psychological traits ��such as Memory, Perception, 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. Game theory is a branch of Applied mathematics that is used in the Social sciences (most notably Economics) Biology, Engineering, 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. Co-operation or co-operative behaviours are terms used to describe Behaviours by Organisms which are beneficial Human evolution, or anthropogenesis, is the part of biological Evolution concerning the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct Species

Criticism

Singer's positions have been challenged by many different groups concerned with what they see as an attack upon human dignity, from advocates for disabled people to right-to-life supporters and people who challenge what they believe are his efforts to supplant the central role of religion from ethical debate. Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a Human being has an essential Right to live particularly that a human being has the right not to be

In Germany, his positions have been compared to Nazism and his lectures have been repeatedly disrupted. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Some claim that Singer's utilitarian ideas lead to eugenics. Eugenics is a social Philosophy which advocates the improvement of Human Hereditary traits through various forms of intervention American economist Steve Forbes ceased his donations to Princeton University in 1999 because of Singer's appointment to an honorable position. Malcolm Stevenson " Steve " Forbes Jr (born July 18, 1947) is the son of Malcolm Forbes and the editor-in-chief of business Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ^[32] Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal wrote to organizers of a Swedish book fair to which Singer was invited that "A professor of morals . Simon Wiesenthal ( Buczacz, December 31, 1908 &ndash Vienna, September 20, 2005) was an Austrian Jewish . . who justifies the right to kill handicapped newborns . . . is in my opinion unacceptable for representation at your level. "^[33] Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, the leading organization for blind people in the United States, strongly criticized Singer's appointment to the Princeton Faculty in a banquet speech at the organization'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. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB is an organization of blind people in the United States. ^[34]

Some commentators expressed their disapproval at the publication of Singer's review essay in which he discusses zoophilia. Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον ( zṓion, "animal" and φιλία ( philia, "friendship" or "love" is a Paraphilia ^[35]

Proponents of other ethical systems like deontology or virtue ethics have found in Singer's work ammunition against utilitarianism and its consequentialism (that is, its assumption that the morality of an act is to be evaluated according to its consequences). Deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek grc δέον deon, "obligation duty" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Virtue theory is a branch of Moral philosophy that emphasizes character rather than rules or consequences as the key element of ethical thinking Consequentialism refers to those moral theories which hold that the consequences of a particular action form the basis for any valid moral judgment about that action They claim that his conclusions show that utilitarianism may lead to eugenics or infanticide in certain circumstances.

Singer has replied that many people judge him based on secondhand summaries and short quotations taken out of context, not his books or articles. ^[36]

Singer experienced the complexities of some of these questions in his own life. Singer's mother had Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease ( AD) also called Alzheimer disease or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of Dementia. He said, "I think this has made me see how the issues of someone with these kinds of problems are really very difficult". ^[37] In an interview with Ronald Bailey published in December 2000 he explained that he is not the only person who is involved in making decisions about his mother (he has a sister). Ronald Bailey (born November 23, 1953) is the science editor for ''Reason'' magazine. He did say that if he were solely responsible, his mother might not be alive today. ^[38] (Singer's mother died shortly thereafter. ) This incident has led to accusations of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy (or the state of being a hypocrite) is the act of preaching a certain belief religion or way of life but not in fact holding these same virtues oneself ^{[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]}

Meta-ethics and foundational issues

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 Philosophy, meta-ethics (sometimes called "analytic ethics" is the branch of Ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties In The Expanding Circle,^[47] 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. In Psychology, cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously 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. Kenneth George "Ken" Binmore (born September 1940 is a well-known Economist, and game theorist. ^[50]

An alternative line taken by Singer about the need for ethics^[51] 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. The paradox of Hedonism, also called the pleasure paradox, is the idea in the study of Ethics which points out that Pleasure and Happiness 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 a watertight defense of utilitarianism is not crucial to his work. In "Famine, Affluence, and Morality", 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 conclusions — for example, that affluent people are very immoral if they do not give up some luxury goods in order to donate the money for famine relief. If his reasoning is valid, either it is not very immoral to value small luxuries over saving many lives, there is no feasible exchange between small luxturies and 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

Some of his other publications 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
• What Should a Billionaire Give-and What Should You, The New York Times, 2006
• 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. Animal Liberation is a book by Australian philosopher Peter Singer, published in 1975 2nd revised edition, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1989
• Practical Ethics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1979; second edition, 1993. ISBN 0521229200 0521297206
• 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 0374234965
• 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. How Are We to Live?: Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest is a book on applied Ethics by modern bioethical Philosopher Peter Singer. ), 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. 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. A Darwinian Left Politics Evolution and Cooperation is a book by Peter Singer (Yale University Press ISBN 0-300-08323-8 which argues that the view of human nature 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 Globalization, 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 ISBN 157954889X
• Eating (co-authored with Jim Mason), Arrow, London, 2006
• Peter Singer Under Fire, Open Court, forthcoming

See also

• Argument from Marginal Cases
• Utilitarian Bioethics
• Utilitarianism

Notes

External links

• Peter Singer Singer's homepage at Princeton University

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