Ethics in the Real World: 87 Brief Essays on Things that Matter

Product Description

In this book of brief essays, Singer applies his controversial ways of thinking to issues like climate change, extreme poverty, animals, abortion, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, the ethics of high-priced art, and ways of increasing happiness. Singer asks whether chimpanzees are people, smoking should be outlawed, or consensual sex between adult siblings should be decriminalised, and he reiterates his case against the idea that all human life is sacred, applying his arguments to some recent cases in the news. In addition, he explores, in an easily accessible form, some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as whether anything really matters and whether the pale blue dot that is our planet has any value. The collection also includes some more personal reflections, including Singer's thoughts on one of his favourite activities, surfing, and an unusual suggestion for starting a family conversation over a holiday feast. Provocative and original, these essays will challenge - and possibly change - your beliefs about a wide range of real-world ethical questions.In this book of brief essays, Singer applies his controversial ways of thinking to issues like climate change, extreme poverty, animals, abortion, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, the ethics of high-priced art, and ways of increasing happiness. Singer asks whether chimpanzees are people, smoking should be outlawed, or consensual sex between adult siblings should be decriminalised, and he reiterates his case against the idea that all human life is sacred, applying his arguments to some recent cases in the news. In addition, he explores, in an easily accessible form, some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as whether anything really matters and whether the pale blue dot that is our planet has any value. The collection also includes some more personal reflections, including Singer's thoughts on one of his favourite activities, surfing, and an unusual suggestion for starting a family conversation over a holiday feast. Provocative and original, these essays will challenge - and possibly change - your beliefs about a wide range of real-world ethical questions.
Peter Singer was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1946, and educated at the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford. He has taught at the University of Oxford, New York University, University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of California at Irvine, and the La Trobe University. He was the founding President of Animal Liberation (Victoria) and is now the President of the Australian and New Zealand Federation of Animal Societies, a peak body for animal welfare and animal rights organisations in Australia and New Zealand. He is the co-founder and President of The Great Ape Project, an international effort to obtain basic rights for chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. In 1994 Peter Singer was a candidate for the Australian Greens at a by-election for the House of Representatives, and gained 29% o the vote, an Australian record for the Greens. Peter Singer first became well known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation. His other books include Democracy and Disobedience; Practical Ethics; The Expanding Circle; Marx; Hegel; Animal Factories (with Jim Mason); The Reproduction Revolution (with Deane Wells); Should the Baby Live? (with Helga Kushe); How are We to Live?; and Rethinking Life and Death.