Practical Ethics

Princeton professor Peter Singer is one of the world’s most renowned moral philosophers and has been admired and vilified for his views the world over. In Practical Ethics he explores a number of topics with ethical implications. The book is scholarly and requires close attention. I found that reading it one chapter a day and thinking about that chapter to be the best approach. Topics include two introductory chapters, About Ethics and Equality and Its Implications, and chapters on specific topics such as Equality for Animals; What’s Wrong with Killing; Taking Life (three chapters on animals, the embryo and fetus and humans); Rich and Poor; Climate Change and the Environment (two chapters); Civil Disobedience, Violence and Terrorism: and a final chapter on Why Act Morally?One striking thing about Professor Singer’s comments is how often he refers to science and real-world situations in making his moral judgments. He is not just making abstract comments based on his own reasoning, but instead uses science and the real world. At the same time his thinking is both controversial (he has been physically attacked and denied the right to give talks) and not always, in my view, correct. For example, on page 139 on the topic of abortion he raises the question of whether or not a woman can terminate a pregnancy as a matter of personal convenience. In the example a woman who is two months pregnant decides to terminate the pregnancy because she wants to go mountain climbing. But she still plans to have children in the future. To quote Professor Singer at this point: “Yet if abortion is wrong only because it deprives the world of a future person, this abortion is not wrong. It does not prevent the entry of a person into the world, it merely delays it.” What Professor Singer is missing, of course, is the fact that it DOES prevent the entry of a particular person, namely the aborted fetus. A later pregnancy (not assured since the woman has already changed her mind once) would result in the birth of an entirely different person. People are not like machines that can be discarded and replaced by a duplicate at a later date.At the same time, many of Professor Singer’s insights provide a new and deeper way of thinking about issues. One example he gives comes from Jonathan Glover. Imagine, Glover says, that in a poor village 100 people are about to eat lunch and each has a bowl with 100 beans. A band of bandits comes in and each bandit grabs one bowl, eats it and gallops off. The villagers are left hungry. But then the bandits have second thoughts and decide to return the following week with a different plan. Each bandit will take only one bean from each bowl. The results, of course, are the same, the villagers starve, but each bandit can say he did only a little harm to each person. This same way of thinking can be applied to such problems as global warming. My actions may only cause a very small part of the problem, but they are still wrong.This book will change the way you think about the world and your actions in it. I recommend it for anyone who wants to live a decent and moral life.

This book changed my life, completely altering the way I view morality as a whole and the value (or lack thereof) of life. Because of Peter Singer, I have developed strong yet defensible views regarding contentious topics, including (non-human) animal rights, abortion, and euthanasia. Peter Singer's stances may be controversial, but the logic and reasoning through which he arrives at his claims is impeccable. Simply glancing at a few of Peter Singer's quotes or viewpoints independently online may leave you appalled, but after reading through his brilliant book in its entirety you will have difficulty arguing with his sound logic. Singer takes a very simple premise that many share - that is, that suffering is undesirable and should be reduced as much as possible - and expands upon it developing a comprehensive moral framework that can be consistently applied to a variety of moral dilemmas. Reading "Practical Ethics" will certainly change your outlook on life, and may even lead you to alter or at least reconsider key moral viewpoints you take for granted.

I disagree with most of what Singer has to say but he writes well and clearly states his positions. In most cases, but not all, he makes good arguments for his positions. While I can find reasons for his arguments to fail, I admire him for clearly stating what he believes. I also admire him from taking his arguments to their logical conclusion and not sloughing them off as many do. For example, the logical extension of his argument in favor of abortion is to also favor infanticide. Despite the obvious repercussions of this idea, Singer honestly takes that position. As a pro-life Christian I would recommend this book to any other pro-lifer who wants to understand what the opposition is saying. This is one of the best ways to find out.

This is a great book! Singer explains different ethical issues that we meet in out everyday life. There is a way to rationalize issues such as euthanasia, abortion, meat diet,... and there is ethicaly valid solution to each and everyone of these questions.Singer is using comprehensible language, without big words or too complicated sentences, so everyone can read this book and make one's own opinion about the issues presented.

Mr. Singer does an excellent job of providing a well-considered approach to ethics. This book was able to change my mind on a few things; abortion being one of them. Worth the time to read this very long, but very good book.

This is now one of my favorite books and it was an assigned read from a cool professor. Got it used and it is worth it. If you even have the slightest interest in philosophy I highly recommend this book. It will open your eyes to different perspectives and make you rethink issues that were seemingly easy to resolve and for some, question your entire belief system. I honestly think that philosophy should be in the high school education curriculum.

I bought this book for my husband, and he absolutely loves it!! He had wanted it for a very long time. The book covers a myriad of interesting moral issues, and Singer thoroughly explains the concepts and ideas.

Book came with good speed and the book is in good condition. Thanks