Practical Ethics

Outline

Practical Ethics (1979) applies clear philosophical reasoning to some of the most difficult moral questions of our time. Peter Singer examines equality, the treatment of animals, global poverty, climate change, and the obligations of the wealthy toward those in need. Arguing from the principle of equal consideration of interests, the book challenges readers to rethink widely held beliefs and act on their values.

• Peter Singer applies clear philosophical reasoning to hard moral questions rather than relying on habit, tradition, or gut feeling.
• The book rests on equal consideration of interests: similar interests deserve similar weight, whoever holds them.
• Singer examines how animals are treated and asks readers to question beliefs about them that most people take for granted.
• The wealthy have obligations toward people in need, and global poverty is treated as a moral issue, not only an economic one.
• Practical Ethics, first published in 1979, also covers equality and climate change, and pushes readers to act on their values.

Peter Singer is an Australian moral philosopher and professor of bioethics at Princeton University. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential living philosophers. His book Animal Liberation helped launch the modern animal rights movement, and his other works include Practical Ethics and The Life You Can Save.